All right, where'd I leave off...
Dec. 11th, 2004 07:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chrystallineQuizzes snitched from Joy:
Captain James T. Kirk- You are the paradigm of the
Starfleet Captain. You explore the universe.
You save lives. What's a few small fractures
of protocol when you've saved the galaxy more
times than you can count. Hell, you even
brought peace between the Federations and the
Klingons.
Which Star Trek Captain are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
[smirk] Yeah, that's me...bad guys need shootin' and when things gotta be done, you don't sit around jawin', you DO something.
You are Xuan Wu!
Mythological background: Because the turtle has a
thick, solid shell that serves as protection -
this animal is associated with stability. You
enjoy intellectual pursuits.
Also, in Feng Shui (the Chinese myths behind
choosing a house), the black turtle's solidity
is used to protect from cold northern winds.
Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
mmkay...
You're like an angel. As everyone knows, angels
dwell in heaven. They were desribed as shining
ones wearing white and the idea that they have
wings is believed as well. Guardian angels are
the ones that many people think are dead loved
ones who try to protect the living friends or
family they have on Earth. They usually had
blonde hair and maybe brown with flawless
appearance and sweet dispositions. They were
cheerful, hopefull, selfless, loving, and kind.
Angels are the one mystical creature that a
majority of people truly believe in. Encounters
with angels are poping up all over the world
and reassuring people's beliefs in angels. (If
you cannot see the picture, go to my userpage
and look near the bottom. There should be the
picture and description for all the results)
What Mystical Creature Are You? (Pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla
hmmm.
You are King Arthur of the Britons! You let no-one
stand in your way, you are brave and strong!
Keep searching, you'll find the grail yet!
Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?
brought to you by Quizilla
Honest, Joy, I'm not deliberately mimicking you...
lord of the rings
!!**_WHAT_MOVIE_R_U_FROM_**!!with Pics
brought to you by Quizilla
Oy, the grammar...the misuse of the % sign in the HTML (spaces)...the misuse of checkboxes...
And you get whatever you pick as your favorite, apparently, because I saw no reasoning in the choices. Seriously, my answers to the various questions should have majorly confused it...
Which OS are You?
Okay. And as long as I was there...
Which Nigerian spammer are You?
First, the non-anaesthetic dental work helped Boo. Her kidneys are not in good enough shape for anaesthetics (though there are downsides to the non-anaesthetic, too - more likelihood of gum disease leading to infection leading to worse kidney trouble and then failure) Also, she's chronically dehydrated. She seems to be unable to clearly see the water level in the bowl; I think that may have something to do with her not drinking enough. I don't know how to fix it, though, so the vet prescribed water injections. A standard IV bag, with a needle I have to stick just under her skin, and I have to hold her still until the 100-200 ml of water are in. Makes a funny, jiggly bulge just under her skin, and she shivers, but she seems so much better with the additional water. I know I don't have much longer with her, but I don't know how to let go. I swear, if I lose her right now, it'll kill me.
I didn't find a cheaper apartment. In fact, when I started discussing things with my parents, it didn't take long at all to turn into "coming back to Alabama." Mom got a job in Michigan, so they needed someone to come get the house organized for moving anyway. Dad was being sent back out to Los Angeles for product testing during the month of October - just in time! So, we made plans based on that.
On the 5th, my temp co-worker called her agency and told them she needed another place because she couldn't stand it anymore. At the time, that's all I knew about it, so it wasn't a huge surprise for me the next day when she wasn't there and the boss went around telling everyone she wasn't going to be back. I found out later, it was mutual - after she called to tell them to get her out of there, they got an email from the boss telling them to take her back. Irony. What really hurt, for me, was the fact that one of the others came to me and told me how glad she was that I was permanent. This was difficult for me because I was planning to give notice that Friday (the 8th). When I did exactly that, I ended up getting a lecture from that particular individual about how I hadn't really given LA enough of a chance. Ten minutes! Much as I liked her, I couldn't keep going deeper in debt just to be receptionist, and that was what was happening.
Unfortunately, I promptly got sick, making me miss the first two days (and apparently making the boss think I didn't intend to fulfill my two week notice). I got well enough to go back to work, but I wasn't really over it. I got to see one or two of the candidates for my position, though the boss' hands-in-the-air, I-don't-know-what-I'm-going-to-do methods set my teeth on edge. My last day, I had a temp to teach. I did the best I could, knowing this lady wouldn't stay. I left text files on the computer, detailing the job the best I could. I never actually finished those, but hey, it's more than any of my predecessors had done. If they ever actually find another receptionist tech savvy enough to read them...
In the meantime, Dad flew out to LA, and we tried to make moving arrangements. Moving out there was over $2000, and the way that moving company jerked us around, we didn't want to go back to them. UHaul, Ryder, Penske, and I forget how many other trucks we checked all ran for $2600-$3000 for the one-way trip, plus gas. Not good. So, we started looking for cargo vans - we thought perhaps we could rent a cargo van one way for less. According to the rental sites, this was cheaper than what we saw on the truck rental sites. The only problem was, none of them would rent a cargo van one way OUT OF STATE. One way in state was fine. This wasn't helping. On the other hand, while I was looking for one way cargo van rentals, I found a site that not only rented cargo vans, but also SOLD them, for cheap. I sent that info to my Dad, and he ended up buying me a white Chevy Astro to drive cross country with my things.
There was no way I was going to subject my geriatric cat to a days-long journey confined in a car, so I flew her back to AL and left her with the vet. I also thought my driver's licence was expired, so I went to get it renewed, only to discover I had read it wrong. I felt ridiculous. I renewed my AAA, though, for safety's sake.
Next big issue? Not much fits in a cargo van.
I had to sell, give away, or throw away most of the furniture I had at the apartment. Not fun. I crammed that van full - the only spot that wasn't jammed full of stuff was the driver's seat and my viewing angle to the side mirror. What's more, I had several boxes I just couldn't fit. I called a friend from work, and she graciously agreed to ship them for me. I had more, though, after she had left, and I wasn't sure what to do, but the apartment complex people were nice enough to agree to let UPS pickup people in so I could have UPS ship my stuff to me.
It took me longer than I had planned to get everything loaded, so while I had originally planned on leaving Oct 30, I didn't end up getting out of there until late the following day. Maybe 7:30ish. I went to McD's for dinner, got gas (where I was cornered by a homeless man who wanted cash "for food at the Mexican place" I wish I could believe that.) One of the biggest downsides to LA - way too many panhandlers, and unless you have the stomach to be really rude, they generally won't take no for an answer. I know, they have needs too, but that's why there are jobs, homeless shelters, churches, and families. I'm not managing to cover my own bills, let alone anyone else's. Anyway, I had a brief problem with my credit card at the gas station, but I showed the clerk my ID, and it was okay. Little did I know.
The most complicated part of the whole trip (I expected) was getting out of LA and getting onto I40, so I concentrated on that the first night. I was determined to at least get clear of the bird's nest of roads in LA metro. I ended up driving until about 2 am, when I stopped in Needles, CA, not far from the state line. When I checked into the hotel, there was trouble with my card again. I decided I would call the card company in the morning, but first - sleep. It was a pretty nice room, but then, it would have to be at those rates. The clerk gave me a late checkout, bless her, so I didn't have to jump right up and run. I got up, got dressed, and called the credit card company. Apparently, when I flew Boo back to AL, the credit card people got worried. After all, they didn't know I'd come from AL in the first place, nor that I was moving back there. Here. Anyway. I had told the bank branch, but apparently the news hadn't reached the card office. I had to answer lots of questions, many of which I wasn't sure I could remember, being so tired and having had a week or more to forget details. I proved I was me, though, and they cleared the warning on my card. Then I called UPS and arranged for them to go pick up my boxes on Tuesday, Nov. 2. I called the apartment office to let them know, and then I called my mom to let her know my progress. By this time it was getting close to noon, when I had to check out, so I packed up and headed out. I got hit on at the Carl's Jr (it's weird...we call them Hardees in the southeast). I wasn't feeling great, but the sore throat and sinus trouble were still under control.
I crossed all of Arizona, and part of New Mexico that day (Monday) and stopped in Albuquerque after having passed some interesting places. (I talked to a friend on my cell phone for a little while, but I couldn't afford the time or battery life to stay on the phone the whole way across AZ;) After miles of dark nothing, Alb. was very beautiful, lying between the mountains like a gem on black velvet. It was only 10 pm or so, but I was starting to feel bad, so I found a relatively inexpensive hotel and hit the hay. When I woke up Tuesday morning, I was miserable. Not only were my sinuses clogged and my throat sore, but I had the worst athlete's foot EVER! Both feet, between every toe and all the way back to the heels; itched so bad I wanted to cut both feet off at the ankle. After a good hot shower, which helped the sinus pressure a bit, I wrestled with the decision: stay an extra day to rest, or press on? I wanted to do both. I felt that I needed to get back to Alabama as soon as possible, but I also felt absolutely wretched. I ended up giving in and staying an extra day (the hotel made me get up and come pay for the extra day up front, too) I spent the morning sleeping, then by midafternoon, I was thoroughly awake. I knew I needed to be able to sleep the night through, so I stayed up, ordered a pizza, and turned on the TV. I didn't want to know the progress of the election (yes, I missed it; I didn't get back to AL in time to vote, and I hadn't managed to get an absentee ballot) I just wanted to know the results when it was over. I figured it would be best to wait for midmorning Wednesday. Anyway, I started flipping through, and found a few things on SciFi and the Cartoon Network that I could stand to watch. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake. I got hooked on Andromeda. And, actually, mildly interested in Stargate SG1, though that one took longer to grow on me. Go figure. Like I needed another fandom or two...
Well, the next day, Wednesday, I headed out around 11 am. I felt bad for losing another day, and I still wasn't completely healthy, but I was on the road. Most of New Mexico's stretch of I40 was under construction, meaning traffic was slower than it could have been. Still, I didn't get stuck in any standstills, so I was doing pretty good. About 10 minutes from the NM/TX state line, I stopped at McD's again. There had been a billboard proclaiming it "Best on 40!" so I had to see it. Unfortunately, about a dozen other cars and semis had to see it at the same time. It was slammed, so there were two lines: one for ordering and one for picking up. As I waited in the pickup line, I overheard two women in front of me discussing their troubles on their trips; apparently they were both west-bound, and they had gotten caught in a snowstorm in Amarillo, TX, that had them stuck for 15 HOURS. I would have been caught in that if I hadn't been sick in the hotel. Interesting, no?
Side note: it was a very good McDonald's, and they had an interesting feature in their restroom: a switch, above which was a sign instructing customers to flip it on if the restroom needed attention. Elegantly simple! It's right there by the sink, so people don't have to go looking for personnel, and the switch could activate lights/sounds anywhere in the place. I suspect there was a light and/or buzzer behind the counter where the employees could see it, and probably the manager, too. I think every place with restrooms ought to have such a thing; people are more likely to flip a switch than notify an employee or manager, and a clean restroom is much less likely to drive customers away.
Sometime in the late morning to midafternoon I decided to try to find out the election results. The first station I found had Kerry speaking. He was thanking everyone, and frankly, coming in when I did, I couldn't tell for ten minutes whether it was a concession or victory speech!
I got all the way across that little spur of Texas and into Oklahoma. Now, through AZ and NM, I had good cellular signal. Once I got into Texas, that was gone. I was "roaming" until I got to Tennessee. I stayed the night on the eastern end of Oklahoma, in a teeny little hole-in-the-wall hotel. My health was not perfect, but I was getting closer to home. Thursday I got up and hit the road, approximately 11 am, as usual. I crossed all of Arkansas, got to Memphis, and headed south. I had some difficulty with the roads between I40 and my intended destination (US 72) but eventually I found it. I have to say, driving cross country is fun, particularly when there is no pressing deadline of "you must be here at this time and you're already pushing it so MOVE!"
I got in around 7pm that night, but I was too tired to bother with unloading anything more than the little bit I absolutely had to have to get ready for bed that night. My computers were still in the back of the van, so I tried to log into AOL on my mom's computer for CTF chat, but I couldn't tell if it was working right, so I logged back off.
Some things have been unloaded, but there's still a pretty good amount in the van. I flew to Detroit for Thanksgiving, where my parents are moving soon, and we drove to Port Huron to have Thanksgiving dinner with Mom's family. My brother got stuck in Atlanta airport, and didn't make it until late Thanksgiving day; he was ticked. We got to see family we hadn't seen in years, although I still haven't managed to meet my cousin's wife. He didn't say why she hadn't come with him.
In the meantime, Dad and I are in AL. He got laid off last week, so we're both in the house for the whole day every day. This is a potentially explosive situation, as he and I are like flint and steel under the BEST of circumstances.
So, I'm still kinda off-balance, and the sinus trouble and athlete's foot have been on-again, off-again problems for some time. I have some business ideas, and I need to get things back under control. I've been feeling like I'm in a tailspin since I got back to AL, to be perfectly honest, and I don't feel like I belong here. I don't feel like I belong anywhere. There is great appeal in the gypsy life, and yet, I can't bear to give up certain things that require a stable physical address. How can I long to wander like a gypsy and at the same time ache for a single place to call home and sink down roots? It just doesn't make sense.
Captain James T. Kirk- You are the paradigm of the
Starfleet Captain. You explore the universe.
You save lives. What's a few small fractures
of protocol when you've saved the galaxy more
times than you can count. Hell, you even
brought peace between the Federations and the
Klingons.
Which Star Trek Captain are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
[smirk] Yeah, that's me...bad guys need shootin' and when things gotta be done, you don't sit around jawin', you DO something.
You are Xuan Wu!
Mythological background: Because the turtle has a
thick, solid shell that serves as protection -
this animal is associated with stability. You
enjoy intellectual pursuits.
Also, in Feng Shui (the Chinese myths behind
choosing a house), the black turtle's solidity
is used to protect from cold northern winds.
Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
mmkay...
You're like an angel. As everyone knows, angels
dwell in heaven. They were desribed as shining
ones wearing white and the idea that they have
wings is believed as well. Guardian angels are
the ones that many people think are dead loved
ones who try to protect the living friends or
family they have on Earth. They usually had
blonde hair and maybe brown with flawless
appearance and sweet dispositions. They were
cheerful, hopefull, selfless, loving, and kind.
Angels are the one mystical creature that a
majority of people truly believe in. Encounters
with angels are poping up all over the world
and reassuring people's beliefs in angels. (If
you cannot see the picture, go to my userpage
and look near the bottom. There should be the
picture and description for all the results)
What Mystical Creature Are You? (Pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla
hmmm.
You are King Arthur of the Britons! You let no-one
stand in your way, you are brave and strong!
Keep searching, you'll find the grail yet!
Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?
brought to you by Quizilla
Honest, Joy, I'm not deliberately mimicking you...
lord of the rings
!!**_WHAT_MOVIE_R_U_FROM_**!!with Pics
brought to you by Quizilla
Oy, the grammar...the misuse of the % sign in the HTML (spaces)...the misuse of checkboxes...
And you get whatever you pick as your favorite, apparently, because I saw no reasoning in the choices. Seriously, my answers to the various questions should have majorly confused it...
Which OS are You?
Okay. And as long as I was there...
Which Nigerian spammer are You?
First, the non-anaesthetic dental work helped Boo. Her kidneys are not in good enough shape for anaesthetics (though there are downsides to the non-anaesthetic, too - more likelihood of gum disease leading to infection leading to worse kidney trouble and then failure) Also, she's chronically dehydrated. She seems to be unable to clearly see the water level in the bowl; I think that may have something to do with her not drinking enough. I don't know how to fix it, though, so the vet prescribed water injections. A standard IV bag, with a needle I have to stick just under her skin, and I have to hold her still until the 100-200 ml of water are in. Makes a funny, jiggly bulge just under her skin, and she shivers, but she seems so much better with the additional water. I know I don't have much longer with her, but I don't know how to let go. I swear, if I lose her right now, it'll kill me.
I didn't find a cheaper apartment. In fact, when I started discussing things with my parents, it didn't take long at all to turn into "coming back to Alabama." Mom got a job in Michigan, so they needed someone to come get the house organized for moving anyway. Dad was being sent back out to Los Angeles for product testing during the month of October - just in time! So, we made plans based on that.
On the 5th, my temp co-worker called her agency and told them she needed another place because she couldn't stand it anymore. At the time, that's all I knew about it, so it wasn't a huge surprise for me the next day when she wasn't there and the boss went around telling everyone she wasn't going to be back. I found out later, it was mutual - after she called to tell them to get her out of there, they got an email from the boss telling them to take her back. Irony. What really hurt, for me, was the fact that one of the others came to me and told me how glad she was that I was permanent. This was difficult for me because I was planning to give notice that Friday (the 8th). When I did exactly that, I ended up getting a lecture from that particular individual about how I hadn't really given LA enough of a chance. Ten minutes! Much as I liked her, I couldn't keep going deeper in debt just to be receptionist, and that was what was happening.
Unfortunately, I promptly got sick, making me miss the first two days (and apparently making the boss think I didn't intend to fulfill my two week notice). I got well enough to go back to work, but I wasn't really over it. I got to see one or two of the candidates for my position, though the boss' hands-in-the-air, I-don't-know-what-I'm-going-to-do methods set my teeth on edge. My last day, I had a temp to teach. I did the best I could, knowing this lady wouldn't stay. I left text files on the computer, detailing the job the best I could. I never actually finished those, but hey, it's more than any of my predecessors had done. If they ever actually find another receptionist tech savvy enough to read them...
In the meantime, Dad flew out to LA, and we tried to make moving arrangements. Moving out there was over $2000, and the way that moving company jerked us around, we didn't want to go back to them. UHaul, Ryder, Penske, and I forget how many other trucks we checked all ran for $2600-$3000 for the one-way trip, plus gas. Not good. So, we started looking for cargo vans - we thought perhaps we could rent a cargo van one way for less. According to the rental sites, this was cheaper than what we saw on the truck rental sites. The only problem was, none of them would rent a cargo van one way OUT OF STATE. One way in state was fine. This wasn't helping. On the other hand, while I was looking for one way cargo van rentals, I found a site that not only rented cargo vans, but also SOLD them, for cheap. I sent that info to my Dad, and he ended up buying me a white Chevy Astro to drive cross country with my things.
There was no way I was going to subject my geriatric cat to a days-long journey confined in a car, so I flew her back to AL and left her with the vet. I also thought my driver's licence was expired, so I went to get it renewed, only to discover I had read it wrong. I felt ridiculous. I renewed my AAA, though, for safety's sake.
Next big issue? Not much fits in a cargo van.
I had to sell, give away, or throw away most of the furniture I had at the apartment. Not fun. I crammed that van full - the only spot that wasn't jammed full of stuff was the driver's seat and my viewing angle to the side mirror. What's more, I had several boxes I just couldn't fit. I called a friend from work, and she graciously agreed to ship them for me. I had more, though, after she had left, and I wasn't sure what to do, but the apartment complex people were nice enough to agree to let UPS pickup people in so I could have UPS ship my stuff to me.
It took me longer than I had planned to get everything loaded, so while I had originally planned on leaving Oct 30, I didn't end up getting out of there until late the following day. Maybe 7:30ish. I went to McD's for dinner, got gas (where I was cornered by a homeless man who wanted cash "for food at the Mexican place" I wish I could believe that.) One of the biggest downsides to LA - way too many panhandlers, and unless you have the stomach to be really rude, they generally won't take no for an answer. I know, they have needs too, but that's why there are jobs, homeless shelters, churches, and families. I'm not managing to cover my own bills, let alone anyone else's. Anyway, I had a brief problem with my credit card at the gas station, but I showed the clerk my ID, and it was okay. Little did I know.
The most complicated part of the whole trip (I expected) was getting out of LA and getting onto I40, so I concentrated on that the first night. I was determined to at least get clear of the bird's nest of roads in LA metro. I ended up driving until about 2 am, when I stopped in Needles, CA, not far from the state line. When I checked into the hotel, there was trouble with my card again. I decided I would call the card company in the morning, but first - sleep. It was a pretty nice room, but then, it would have to be at those rates. The clerk gave me a late checkout, bless her, so I didn't have to jump right up and run. I got up, got dressed, and called the credit card company. Apparently, when I flew Boo back to AL, the credit card people got worried. After all, they didn't know I'd come from AL in the first place, nor that I was moving back there. Here. Anyway. I had told the bank branch, but apparently the news hadn't reached the card office. I had to answer lots of questions, many of which I wasn't sure I could remember, being so tired and having had a week or more to forget details. I proved I was me, though, and they cleared the warning on my card. Then I called UPS and arranged for them to go pick up my boxes on Tuesday, Nov. 2. I called the apartment office to let them know, and then I called my mom to let her know my progress. By this time it was getting close to noon, when I had to check out, so I packed up and headed out. I got hit on at the Carl's Jr (it's weird...we call them Hardees in the southeast). I wasn't feeling great, but the sore throat and sinus trouble were still under control.
I crossed all of Arizona, and part of New Mexico that day (Monday) and stopped in Albuquerque after having passed some interesting places. (I talked to a friend on my cell phone for a little while, but I couldn't afford the time or battery life to stay on the phone the whole way across AZ;) After miles of dark nothing, Alb. was very beautiful, lying between the mountains like a gem on black velvet. It was only 10 pm or so, but I was starting to feel bad, so I found a relatively inexpensive hotel and hit the hay. When I woke up Tuesday morning, I was miserable. Not only were my sinuses clogged and my throat sore, but I had the worst athlete's foot EVER! Both feet, between every toe and all the way back to the heels; itched so bad I wanted to cut both feet off at the ankle. After a good hot shower, which helped the sinus pressure a bit, I wrestled with the decision: stay an extra day to rest, or press on? I wanted to do both. I felt that I needed to get back to Alabama as soon as possible, but I also felt absolutely wretched. I ended up giving in and staying an extra day (the hotel made me get up and come pay for the extra day up front, too) I spent the morning sleeping, then by midafternoon, I was thoroughly awake. I knew I needed to be able to sleep the night through, so I stayed up, ordered a pizza, and turned on the TV. I didn't want to know the progress of the election (yes, I missed it; I didn't get back to AL in time to vote, and I hadn't managed to get an absentee ballot) I just wanted to know the results when it was over. I figured it would be best to wait for midmorning Wednesday. Anyway, I started flipping through, and found a few things on SciFi and the Cartoon Network that I could stand to watch. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake. I got hooked on Andromeda. And, actually, mildly interested in Stargate SG1, though that one took longer to grow on me. Go figure. Like I needed another fandom or two...
Well, the next day, Wednesday, I headed out around 11 am. I felt bad for losing another day, and I still wasn't completely healthy, but I was on the road. Most of New Mexico's stretch of I40 was under construction, meaning traffic was slower than it could have been. Still, I didn't get stuck in any standstills, so I was doing pretty good. About 10 minutes from the NM/TX state line, I stopped at McD's again. There had been a billboard proclaiming it "Best on 40!" so I had to see it. Unfortunately, about a dozen other cars and semis had to see it at the same time. It was slammed, so there were two lines: one for ordering and one for picking up. As I waited in the pickup line, I overheard two women in front of me discussing their troubles on their trips; apparently they were both west-bound, and they had gotten caught in a snowstorm in Amarillo, TX, that had them stuck for 15 HOURS. I would have been caught in that if I hadn't been sick in the hotel. Interesting, no?
Side note: it was a very good McDonald's, and they had an interesting feature in their restroom: a switch, above which was a sign instructing customers to flip it on if the restroom needed attention. Elegantly simple! It's right there by the sink, so people don't have to go looking for personnel, and the switch could activate lights/sounds anywhere in the place. I suspect there was a light and/or buzzer behind the counter where the employees could see it, and probably the manager, too. I think every place with restrooms ought to have such a thing; people are more likely to flip a switch than notify an employee or manager, and a clean restroom is much less likely to drive customers away.
Sometime in the late morning to midafternoon I decided to try to find out the election results. The first station I found had Kerry speaking. He was thanking everyone, and frankly, coming in when I did, I couldn't tell for ten minutes whether it was a concession or victory speech!
I got all the way across that little spur of Texas and into Oklahoma. Now, through AZ and NM, I had good cellular signal. Once I got into Texas, that was gone. I was "roaming" until I got to Tennessee. I stayed the night on the eastern end of Oklahoma, in a teeny little hole-in-the-wall hotel. My health was not perfect, but I was getting closer to home. Thursday I got up and hit the road, approximately 11 am, as usual. I crossed all of Arkansas, got to Memphis, and headed south. I had some difficulty with the roads between I40 and my intended destination (US 72) but eventually I found it. I have to say, driving cross country is fun, particularly when there is no pressing deadline of "you must be here at this time and you're already pushing it so MOVE!"
I got in around 7pm that night, but I was too tired to bother with unloading anything more than the little bit I absolutely had to have to get ready for bed that night. My computers were still in the back of the van, so I tried to log into AOL on my mom's computer for CTF chat, but I couldn't tell if it was working right, so I logged back off.
Some things have been unloaded, but there's still a pretty good amount in the van. I flew to Detroit for Thanksgiving, where my parents are moving soon, and we drove to Port Huron to have Thanksgiving dinner with Mom's family. My brother got stuck in Atlanta airport, and didn't make it until late Thanksgiving day; he was ticked. We got to see family we hadn't seen in years, although I still haven't managed to meet my cousin's wife. He didn't say why she hadn't come with him.
In the meantime, Dad and I are in AL. He got laid off last week, so we're both in the house for the whole day every day. This is a potentially explosive situation, as he and I are like flint and steel under the BEST of circumstances.
So, I'm still kinda off-balance, and the sinus trouble and athlete's foot have been on-again, off-again problems for some time. I have some business ideas, and I need to get things back under control. I've been feeling like I'm in a tailspin since I got back to AL, to be perfectly honest, and I don't feel like I belong here. I don't feel like I belong anywhere. There is great appeal in the gypsy life, and yet, I can't bear to give up certain things that require a stable physical address. How can I long to wander like a gypsy and at the same time ache for a single place to call home and sink down roots? It just doesn't make sense.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 02:07 am (UTC)You know, I know EXACTLY how you feel. And I don't understand it, either...
I hope you get to feeling better, and that you and your dad make it through your alone time without wringing one another's neck. ;P
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-15 11:35 pm (UTC)You haven't been having a great time either, I know. When I get out of here, wanna come with? I'm thinking greater Atlanta area, possibly in the next couple of months...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-20 08:54 pm (UTC)Good luck, either way! :)