Okay, if you’re ever planning a trip to Asheville and you really want to see the place (and I recommend it), allow yourself a few days at least. I really only had one full day. If I had hit the road super early yesterday and not dawdled, I could have had a day and a…
Not a ton to report from the first leg of the journey. Got an early start this morning (for me), leaving Alpharetta around 8am. The stretch to Greenville got pretty monotonous. Shift right to pass, shift back left, shift right again… joy…. There’s not much of visual interest once you pass the lakes as the…
Longggggg week at work. I was planning to do “flex time” – i.e. work 40 hours in 4 days to have a long weekend. Not for fun per se. I had a dentist appointment today (and yes, my Dentist is here until he retires) and I also ended up needing rear brake bads replaced, so…
So, all my life, I’ve noticed that I’ve combined the best and worst of my families. I can be incredibly tight-fisted with money, and then I’ll go bonkers and spend like there’s no tomorrow on which to worry. So, I’ve recently been more on the latter end of things. For instance, I’m sitting here typing…
Long day… This morning, I managed to crunch my universal remote control. Mind you, this wasn’t a cheapy one, but one that I had bought a few years ago that could learn from other remotes and could record macros so that I didn’t have to hit a thousand buttons to power up the TV, cable…
So the reading list has been sparse lately as I’ve been waiting for the first shipment of comics via mail since the last pick-up from Chris. In the interim, however, I’ve had time to work on some of the trades, etc. that have been waiting my attention. Maybe as long as a year ago, DC…
Life is Random Yesterday, I was heading home from work, barely a couple of miles from the office when I saw a white blazer waiting to merge in with heavy traffic from the opposite side of the road and doing my bit of good kharma, let the driver in. Now the funny part is that…
askHad a nice weekend. I got jack done at home of the things I should have done, but sometimes that’s better. Saturday I slept until noon… yes… noon. And then I napped some more. I did finish painting the trim on the stairs that night but that’s all I accomplished for the entire weekend. I…
First, one I’ve meant to share for a week: HUGE KIDS SALE I’ve passed that sign at a church on the way to work about this time of the year every year since I bought my house. And every year, I want to know are they selling a lot of kids or just really large…
So, despite being cool yesterday, in an almost fall-like manner, the sun was bright and beautiful. I know this because I saw it from my window. Despite my gung-ho attitude to get out and enjoy Saturday, I was tired and bum-like and barely stirred before noon. And when I was finally up and moving, I…
Not down the drain I hope! Having a reflective moment, so deal with it. Yesterday, I notice that there are new students at my tiny little high school and bop into to see who. Turns out to be someone I knew of but didn’t really know. A few years ahead, he dated a sister of…
I did manage to get some trim painting done. Of course, half-way through, the phone rings. I reach for the upstairs cordless (yes, I’m so anal the little electronic message on it says “upstairs”) only to discover that it says “place on cradle. Oops, the extension cradle is normally in the hall and has been…
Sunday evening has rolled around and the weekend was incredibly short. Had dinner with April after work Friday and then ran and grabbed some stuff I needed from Wal-Mart before coming home to continue my work on the painting. Did only a bit before succumbing to the need for sleep. Saturday, I only did a…
So, the painting of my hall and stairwell continues. I’m going from a mossy green to a stark white, so this is not exactly a one coat thing. I liked the green but just too dark for a windowless area with average height ceilings (that being the hall upstairs). Even incomplete, I am much happier…
Trying to get back into the habit of semi-regular exercise, which in winter is hard for me. I have a treadmill (thanks to my Mom breaking her ankle a few years ago and not being allowed to do weight-bearing exercise anymore), but there’s little I find more boring. I listen to music most of the…
Spent the day doing a little reading and in between prepping my hallway for a repainting. Whee? I also watched a few more eps from my Smallville Season One box set. There are episodes from this season I never watched because during the original run I had no interest. It was only thanks to the…
Long week. Another dentist appointment on Tuesday so I ended up burning a couple of days of vacation rather than trying to drive home from here Monday night and then back here Tuesday – just not worth it. Wednesday was a big meeting with one of our customers – the who is not important but…
So, t’s been a long couple of days. Right before bed last night, I got an e-mail from Chris, my comic connection. It was one I’d expected awhile. First off, I’ve been getting comics from Chris for like 4 years now or darn close to. I stuck with a store in Decatur for nearly a…
I think I fall into the trap of not blogging everytime I come back from a trip. Everyday observations may not be as fun, but every so often, just writing down your thoughts can be cathartic and a little gem of words might crop up. You never know. I spent the earlier part of the…
Last weekend was my first trip home since being in Rome. It wasn’t just a pleasure visit, I had to see my dentist for some ongoing dental work. I had to have some bone removed that’s affecting my bite. A couple more visits before everything is done. I could whine about the soreness or the…
It occurred to me on the flight back today that the trips to Europe tend to be made overnight, i.e. in search of the sunrise, but the flights back are all chasing the sunset, such that it feels like I went through the longest day. I saw the sunrise at around 7:30am in Rome (six…
I went to bed reasonably early last night after finishing a book and recharging my phone (I’m a bit afraid to leave it plugged in while asleep on foreign currents). still, when I went to bed, my other two room-mates were not there. I could tell the one from the first night, Mel, was still…
Long day. Up earlier than usual to see Brandy off to the train bound for the airport and her flight home. Two more days I’ll be doing the same trek myself. Since I was up early, I decided that I would go check out the big market in Porta Portese Piazza in Trastavere. It’s held…
Brandy and I got up this morning. The room still wasn’t what either of us would call hot but far warmer than anything we’d experienced to date in Sorrento. We briefly saw the night clerk last night when we got in. It appears she quit. She told us after settling the bill and telling us…
What a day! This morning we had to drop off clothes for Brandy to get washed (her bag was still MIA this morning). Afterwards, by here for breakfast and a little internet time before heading out. We went by the room to pick up our stuff and as we were walking out I happened to…
One more full day in Sorrento and one night to go. The room has remained cold. It’s not so cold that one truly wants to go outside and sleep on the grates, but I can not imagine recommending the place we’re staying to anyone in the winter. I guess all the positive reviews I read…
Where to start? I’ll save some suspense and first describe where I am because this alone is a unique experience. The only night time internet spot in Sorrento as far as we can tell is a club. We laughed last night when we saw it. Little did we know the next night we’d both be…
Well, I guess adventure is fun. In the future, when we talk of this, I will refer to this as an opportunity to spend another day in Roma. I got everything packed up last night and thought I was doing pretty darn well. All I had to do was get ready and head out the…
Well, I’m batting zero on getting up early. If I get up as late tomorrow as I did today, Brandy will be waiting alone in the train station! In other words, I woke up after 10am. I was up late. First I wandered over to the movie theater nearby. They supposedly sometimes have some “lingua…
Off to a spectacular start for the new year if you’re a fish. This is becoming a trend for me as New Years in Edinburgh last year was so wet that I went and watched a movie… now there’s an idea… I had something somewhere that mentioned there were english movies – could be interesting…
Okay, so I didn’t accomplish nearly as much today as I figured I would but it was a nice day. Last night when I got back, I met one of my (barely) room-mates, a guy (I swear) whose name was Tito (???what it sounded like???) from Belgium. Nice guy, we talked a bit. I could…
First off, if you see any weird characters or out of place symbols, blame the Euro keyboard for having characters I’m not used to in the place where I’m used to characters I need. I had less trouble with UK – let me tell you! I left Atlanta yesterday afternoon in a complete scatter. I…
Over the weekend, I had a little, mind you only a little, time to read. Instead of the piles of comics, I decided to pick up a graphic novel from Oni Press that I bought based on a blurb in previews. As it turns out, it was well worth it. Off Road is cleverly written…
I held off on mentioning this partially because I’ve been slam-busy and partially waiting for things to firm up, but I’m no longer going to Italy completely solo. I’ll still have some me time, but part of the trip, Brandy, a friend for more years than either of us probably care to admit, is joining…
I started feeling kinda poorly the end of last week, scratchy throat, sniffles – the usual. Was hoping allergies. Went home for an early rendition of Dad’s birthday (which is actually this coming Friday). With luck the folks won’t look back on the visit as the coming pestilence. Saturday and Sunday I continued to feel…
Well, if you’ve talked to me or e-mailed with me in the past month or so, you’ve probably suffered through a good deal of trip talk, i.e. “Should I stay or should I go now.” More than a month ago, I started contemplating Rome for the New Year. It’s the off-season yes, but it cannot…