Biloxi Pictures 1 (Room)

I got to the coast today with an uneventful trip. The worst part was one portion of I-55 in Jackson (right south of MS-25/Lakeland Dr., near FPC). It's kind of a hill, then a curve in the road. It's not so bad, but if you get there at rush hour (which I didn't, but have), it might get a bit confusing for someone unfamiliar with it.

I had to run by Gulf Regional Planning Commission (I applied for a job there a while back...and apparently they are about to be without a transportation planner...nothing further there, I'm happy in Oxford, it's just interesting) to get a tablet computer set up to do landuse using GPS and a GIS mapping software. I won't bore anyone with details.

So I decided to bring my camera in before the valet got my car this time and was able to get a few pictures. Here they are. The first batch is my room. The second will be a few miscellaneous outside pictures I got a few minutes later:
1. Room with a view (of the Beau Rivage)
2. Room/bed
3. Bathroom
4. Shower (if yo look closely, note the three shower heads)
5. My TV greets me.

A few pictures from the Delta Region of Mississippi.

So I had to go out to Clarksdale, MS today to do some work for an annexation project. I was amazed at how dramatically the topography of the land changed between here and there. Those of you who have been in Oxford know that it is a somewhat hilly town. It's not mountainous by any means, but there are some unfortunate intersections in town which are on 45 degree slopes. If you get on Highway 6 and drive west not forty minutes, it goes from hilly, to FLAT. What is intresting, is how quickly it goes from hilly to flat. The hills do gradually taper off, but then just fall off around the Tallahatchie River, just a few minutes west of Batesville...Panola County's seat (which is just over a half hour from Oxford). I noticed a remarkably sudden difference as I crossed the bridge over the Tallahatchie River, right beyond a Corps of Engineers Levee, then it is flat for several hundred miles on out to the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Here are a few pictures I snapped between Marks, Quitman County's Seat (which is just west of Batesville...and before Clarksdale....which is in Coahoma County). If you look closely, you may be able to see some cotton lining the roadside. Apparently it is right near harvest time. I even saw some MSDOT trucks sweeping the side of Highway 6 in Clarksdale to clean it up. Incidentally, I ate at a BBQ restaurant at "The Crossroads"--the former intersection of US 49 (now DeSoto Ave.) and US 61 (now MS161) where early blues legend Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the Devil to tune his guitar so he could play anything.

But I digress...as promised...the very flat Mississippi Delta Region (not unlike a slightly more sylvan version of northern Indiana between Indianapolis and Chicago along I-65). One of these, I do not remember which, was taken on my cell phone, so I apologize for the quality:

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

The calendar says October 24. The weather feels more like December 24th. It's been breezy, drizzling, overcast, and breezy all day. I'm not complaining, it makes great soup weather, hot chocolate weather, wear my wool/leather bottomed slippers. I don't think it got above 50 here today (and if it did, not by much). It reminds me that it is indeed Autumn, and that my favorite month is just a week away. (And it's not my favorite just because it has my birthday...though that doesn't hurt).

I had the first training course for my Certified Planning and Zoning Official in Alabama (hereafter CAPZO). This an admittedly dry portion of the training dealing with the legal basis and background for planning law in Alabama. As boring as the material was, my attention was kept all the class period. Allegedly the rest are more intresting, we'll see. I did manage to convince Mike to go ahead and let me finish the training off here in one fell swoop. He was initially hesitant, but realized how quickly I could get it done, then jumped on board. I may have to go to Birmingham then come back immediately after the class (about three hours) rather than staying a night then coming back and getting into Oxford at around 10am each time, but we'll play that by ear. I'm trying to convince him to let me stay in Birmingham from the 8th through the 10th (a Thursday through Saturday) because one class is offered on Thursday night, and the other on Saturday morning through afternoon. I think he wants me to come back, but I have time to convince him otherwise. I think he also wants me to do this so he can take a "homegrown" and Alabamian with an Alabama education and CAPZO certification for marketing purposes (at the Alabama League of Municipalities) in May. We'll see how this all works out.

The trip to Birmingham was interesting. Highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be):

1. It was either raining hard, or drizzling the whole way back.

2. I made a wrong turn coming out of a gas station in Cordova, AL--I was supposed to stay on AL-269--and ended up on Amory Ave (don't ask) in Cordova and coming to a bride that was out. (Well, I came within a couple of miles, I really didn't "come upon" it).

3. Continuing down AL-269, I ran through what I will dub, "Coal Country Alabama". This is in southern Walker and northern Jefferson county, between Jasper and Birmingham--Birmingport, AL to be specific (or the Port of Birmingham along the Mulberry Fork of the river system). There is a lot of coal being loaded in that area of the state, and now my car has part of Alabama on it (in the form of black coal dust). It was drizzling just enough around this point that wasn't running my wipers, but had to do it once every thirty seconds or so. When I did, my windshield went into "gray-out" from the dust...meaning whenever I used the wipers, it would spread coal dust all over my windshield. I had to use my fluid EVERY TIME I had to clear my windshield off so I could see the road.

4. I got into Hueytown, AL. The directions said "Stay on 19th St."...ok..."Slight Right onto 18th St." I see a sign that indicates 19th Street bearing left...and the local transit authority didn't spend a whole lot on signage...so I assume 18th Street is heading right. WRONG! I end up on 26th Ave., or 27th. Ave, or something. I continue because there's no good place to turn around, and besides, the interchange I got mixed up in is an ungodly fork. I end up by the Water Treatment facility in Bessemer, along Bessemer-Johns Rd. (Fortunately, my motel is in Bessemer...but I have no clue where I am in now). I remember seeing a sign for Alabama Adventure park (not the parkway), and knowing that Alabama Adventure Pkwy. goes to the interstate I go towards the park. I start driving down that road, then see a sign for "Academy somethingoranother", and knowing my motel is off Academy Drive in Bessemer, I go towards that. I got there shortly after 3:30 (right at 3hrs 30m after leaving Oxford). I would have made better time had I not gotten turned around in Cordova (my fault totally), or in Hueytown (Hueytown's fault). I did get to see Bessemer-Johns Road, which I've heard about on crime reports in Birmingham news reports.

5. I drove through Ensley today (now part of Birmingham)--it was allegedly the quickest way back to Hwy. 78. From a city planner's perspective, it was interesting. It was once a huge industrial town and suburb of Birmingham. It was a planned city, looked like it had a once thriving downtown, but now is very dilapidated and annexed by Birmingham. It was actually kind of surreal...almost a ghost town. It's not exactly the area one wants to drive through after dark.


6. Driving back today, my car hit 70,000 miles. Not significant necessarily (that comes in 30,000 more miles...which given the rate I'll be driving in the not too distant future, might not be too long). Here is a picture I snatched on my cell phone camera. I happened to look down at 69,999mi. I tried to get a picture of where I was on the road, but it wasn't good. I seem to remember it was around milepost 24 or something in Alabama along Hwy. 78/Future I-22. (Incidentally, the speed limit where I was at the time is 70mph and I can get the phone into camera mode without taking my eyes off the road, I did have to look at the phone to frame it, then to approve it after taking it, and the road was straight at that point, and there was virtually no traffic in either direction...I really need to dust my dashboard).

What's up pt. 3

So I got back from Tuscaloosa on Labor Day at around 6pm. I stepped into my apartment, and felt a blast of warm air come out. My AC had died yet again. I call maintenance, which is obviously not in at the time (they're open until 5:30pm on a non-holiday), and get the answering service and tell them about my AC being dead again. About two hours later, the maintenance guy knocks on my door and says that the AC is indeed dead, and that he will have a new compressor for me in the morning and offers me a corporate suite if he can get in touch with management (he can't). No biggie, I slept with one sheet on me and a fan blowing.

I get up and go to work the next morning. At about 10:30 or so, Mike asks me to go to Hattiesburg again and that I didn't have to come back after lunch. Having no other plans, this isn't a problem. We're just needing to wrap up the land use survey. I get a reservation at the same motel at the intersection of I-59 and US-49. It is about a four hour drive down there (2 1/2 hours roughly to Jackson, and 1 1/2 hours roughly to Hattiesburg from Jackson) and I arrive at about 5pm...just in time for the free cocktails (the last time I was there, I got there at 7:30, which is when they stop...which seemed rather early to me, but whatever). I ran out and got some BBQ at a place that reminded me of Fat Man (that's Fat Man's, not Fat Boy's) in Prattville. It's not the best BBQ around, but for a quick BBQ sandwich, it wasn't bad.

The land use went fine and I got back into Oxford about 7pm on Wednesday. This time, my AC was working, and in contrast to the last time I got back, I was blown away by the cool air (much like the day I first got into the apartment...except no condensation on the doorknob). There is a new condenser outside, and they have yet to remove the old one from the premises (it is disconnected, mind you, just not removed). Now I can start bugging them about the other problems with my apartment.

So I've put a lot of miles on my car lately, but I've seen a lot of Mississippi that I hadn't ever seen before...the Delta comes to mind.

I also ended up tailgating on the Grove on Saturday. They do know how to tailgate here. There were tents EVERYWHERE on the grove. (And I mean, EVERYWHERE). "Bumper to bumper" tents. It was like a concentrated version of the gameday at Tuscaloosa, so I felt at home, in spite of the Ole Miss fans surrounding me. I parked at work. I probably could have parked closer, but I do not know where the parking spots are. I'm sure the walk didn't do me any harm.

I'm thinking about what to do this weekend. I might go to Clarksdale and see some live Delta Blues at the club Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman owns. I might go to Jackson to see some friends down there. If I go to Jackson this weekend, I'll probably "do" Clarksdale the next weekend. Then the next weekend I go to Tuscaloosa/Northport for Suzanna's 3rd birthday/Mckenzie's baptism shindig. I should arrive Friday night and spend time/the night with other people I know there to just "hang out". Looks to be a full remainder of September too.

The weather got suddenly nice here. It got sunny and dry, and, dare I say it, cool last night. Humberto is supposed to start dumping some rain late tomorrow and Friday, but then it should clear out for what looks to be a nice (if not busy) weekend.

Kenny Simpson

Since Kelly did it, I will to. Here is the Simpsonized version of me. Another lenghty post to come either today or tomorrow about what I've been up to in Oxford:

What's up pt. 2

I'm sitting here just short of 9am having slept in until 8am. I'm sitting on my porch/deck/patio/whatever you want to call it with a cup of tea (English Breakfast), watching the rain fall gently. It is letting up now, but it was a bit heavier at 8am. (Not a torrential downpour, mind you). This ought to make the Grove look nice today, then again, if the stories about it being covered in tents is true, it might still be dry. The field at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium is fake grass, so it will just be slippery like recycled tires are. Certainly the humidity should be on the rise now, making for a very muggy game day here in Oxford.

Hattiesburg was a nice town. It is a town of about 45,000 with a university (Southern Miss) of about 16,000 students. In other words, Southern Miss and Hattiesburg have the same proportion of population and students as does Tuscaloosa and UA. Similarly, Hattiesburg has a city just across a river (the Leaf River) like Northport, and is proportionally about the same size as Northport. The town is called Petal, which is where I was doing my land use surveys down there.

They were less frustrating than they were in Yazoo City, probably because I had more experience in doing them. What I dislike most is the fact that we are currently doing these on paper maps which are rather large (imagine having several dozen maps the size of state maps sitting in your lap and marking on them with a red pen). I'm going to push for a more automated way of doing them. We have a portable computer with GPS capabilities which in theory it wouldn't be impossible to set up a system to scan the maps, and rectify them to an existing spatial database of the study area. In fact, it might be rather easy once the system is figured out since with PLSS exists in both mediums easily giving me the three or more points I need to rectify. (I'm sorry I bored you with that last tirade). Maybe once this new planner (with GIS experience) gets on staff here the week after next--Sept. 17th--that will be more of a possibility that either of us can do it.

I got back to Oxford after being in Hattiesburg and spent two days entering the data into the computer for Yazoo City, setting up Petal to a point at which I could feasibly do it, and of course doing a few things Mike had me working on before the land use survey. I left straight from work on Friday to Tuscaloosa forgetting to complete my timesheet for the day (not a big deal) and leaving my laptop at work. I realized this about five miles out of town so I turned back across Hwy. 6 and made a detour back to pick it up and then the trek back to Tuscaloosa.

Tuscaloosa was fun, I really do miss it. I went to campus during the game (while Paul and Tim went to the game itself). We parked out on JWP with hundreds of other cars parked along River Road Park and JWP. It was warm, but for a Sept. 1st game, it could have been A LOT worse...especially given the then recently passed heatwave. I watched the game at The Ferg. It was nice watching it there. It has all the benefits of watching it at home (AC, clean restrooms nearby) but some of the beneifts of watching it with 92,137 of your closest friends (the dining room near the Starbucks was full of people in crimson and white). Bama won 52-6. The "D" was a tad suspect at times, but it was the first game of the season, and we actually played with some "O", the last time we scored that many points was...well...against the same team (W. Carolina) back in 2004...but they didn't score on us (consider, though, that was the beginnings of the 2005 "D").

More later, including my trip back to Hattiesburg on short notice, the hopeful end to my AC saga, and my summary of tailgating on the Grove (I've been invitied...now to find parking...fortunately, Oxford is a small town and Ole Miss is a large University, so if I find a spot, I won't be too terribly far from the University), and perhaps a summary of the UA/Vandy game which kicks off here in just over an hour.

What's up pt. 1

Once again, I must apologize for not posting in a while. I do not lead an interesting life like Kerry. I have traveled 1000+ miles around Mississippi over the past two weeks, not to mention two separate trips back to Tuscaloosa, but that's about as interesting as it gets.

I went back to Tuscaloosa two weeks ago for a friend's (Martin Wagner) ordination as an assistant pastor at Faith Prez in Birmingham. This is where Liz Smith (whatever her last name is now) goes with her husband, among a few others that I know. This was the first of my friends to be ordained in the PCA. In the future, Will Joseph, JC Tomberlin, Blake Johnson, and Kevin Corley will each have an MDiv. and presumably will be ordained in some reformed denomination (not necessarily the PCA...which is probably most likely in JC's case...he might go Reformed Baptist if he settles on being a pastor). I stayed in Tuscaloosa and left that Monday morning bright and early for some land use surveys throughout Mississippi. First in Yazoo City, the "Gateway to the Delta", then in Hattiesburg, home of the University of Southern Mississippi (which, incidentally, has a PhD program in Geography).

Yazoo City was very much a Delta town (to compare it, it was very much like a Black Belt town). It was by and large a dilapidated city that has a lot of potential, but can't seem to get over that hump. It's no Eutaw or Camden, but it's not exactly, well, Chicago. The governor of Mississippi is from Yazoo City (Haley Barbour). There's a Haley Barbour Blvd. in Yazoo City. They did have a decent Best Western motel and Mexican restaurant. My favorite part about Yazoo City was the sudden drop off to the Delta, which is by and large a very flat and fertile region of the country. The east side of Yazoo City, I'll define by US49 (or Jerry Clower Blvd), seems to divide rolling hills, windy roads, and such to just flat. You can see vast flatness from parts of town, and until the state of Mississippi reconfigured a particular intersection in town, I'm told one could drive over a bridge and all of a sudden see the Delta when cresting the bridge. The Delta also is known for its music, specifically Blues ("Delta" blues), as well as jazz and rock & roll. There are numerous Blues festivals throughout the Delta region. Morgan Freeman (an Academy Award winning actor) lives in the Delta most of the time (in Charleston, MS), and owns and operates a blues club in Clarksdale named Ground Zero Blues Club.
Given my interest in music, I should get out there at some time and see what Delta Blues is all about. But I digress...

Yazoo City took two days to complete, amazingly, and it was frustrating because it was something I was sort of thrown in to with no experience and just a few minutes of "training" on what to do. I did have the entire Bay St. Louis office helping me (one person), and she had done it before, so I just sort of had to lean on her experience a lot. It got less frustrating I suppose, with time.

More later...I'm going to catch something on TV now. Coming up...the (supposed) end to my A/C saga.

Oxford Pt. 3 (includes summary of my AC saga)

Wednesday was my first day at work. It was nothing spectacular as I was just getting paperwork done and making some basic (and simple maps). I got in at around 9 and left around 1. I got health and life insurance forms filled out chiefly and tried to get accustomed to the system at the office of where files are, what I need to do in certain situations, et cetera. It was much like the first day of class in college. The next two days he was out of the office, but left me stuff to do. The next week was the same, except the Bay St. Louis office (one person) was in town. She comes up for a week once a month apparently. That added some excitement, but otherwise everything was normal. This week, Mike was out most of today (Tuesday) and will be out all day tomorrow (Wednesday) again, at the coast. I’m not sure if this barrage of meetings is normal or if it’s unusual. I mean, I think he’s going to be in Hattiesburg interviewing a person to fill another position with the company on Friday in conjunction with another meeting in the area. He seems like a busy guy.

The first day after work, I got home and realized that my AC didn’t seem to be blowing cold air. I let it run for a while because it was, after all, 100+ outside. After a little while, I came to the conclusion that something was out of whack, and reported it to maintenance. This was about 1:30 or so. About three, I feel some cool air coming out of the vent in my living room while I was lying on the couch taking a nap. (If you’ve been here, the AC vent in my living room is position in relation to the couch that the air pours right onto it towards the outside wall. The next day I again got home at around noon and it wasn’t blowing cold air anymore. So I again reported it to maintenance. Then it blew cool air again. Friday was the same story. A few minutes later, the maintenance guy knocked on my door and explained the problem to me.

Apparently there is some sort of major Freon leak in the line. They tried a fix on it and would see if it would work over the weekend. It did, and it worked on to about Thursday with no problem. It goes on like this all of last week. It goes bad, they come out and fix it. Apparently they are trying to isolate the problem. Thursday and Friday of last week they shut power in the building for some reason and it apparently trips the Freon tank hooked up to my unit outside to turn off and it gets to be 85+ in my apartment because, well, it’s hot outside and my AC isn’t blowing cold air. They come back each day and get it pumping cool air again.

Yesterday I got home, and it was blowing cool air, but not a lot of it. I report it before the office closes, then go out to get a hair cut. I come back with dinner, eat it, and about 7pm the maintenance guy knocks on my door and explains the status. Apparently some piece of the unit that costs $700+ has gone bad and will have to be replaced. He said that he has been working most of the day on AC units in the complex (I figure HVAC folks are making a lot of money during this heat wave). So at least I have a status update. I really can’t complain because when it doesn’t work, I’m not at home, and when I get home and it’s hot in the apartment, I report it and they get out fairly quickly to work on it and it’s plenty cool by the time I go to bed. It’s just frustrating. I’m sure I’m not the only person dealing with it. I also pointed out some of the other maintenance problems I have, but he said the apartment was so backed up with AC issues in the complex, that they’ve had to prioritize, which is just as well. That the vent fan in my main bathroom is on the fritz too is of MUCH less importance to me than getting my AC working in this blasted heatwave. That’s just a bit of an eyesore, versus something that could, in theory at least, endanger my health.

One more post will include impressions of Christ Pres, and Oxford in general (both good thus far). That will probably be the final post about my first few days in Oxford and I can get onto a “regular” posting schedule.

Oxford Pt. 2 (more to come later)

This is after my first night in my apartment up until my first day of work. This does not include the AC saga, which about an hour ago had another chapter added to it. They’re working on it, to be fair, but it is getting frustrating. I’ll be glad when it is resolved. That portion deserves its own post. The next post should include my first few days of work, my first full week, and church at Christ Pres.

Mom and dad went back to the Days Inn up the road for the rest of the night. Paul and I did some shopping at Wal-Mart for a couple of items (some bleach and cable cord for my TV). We got back and he helped me do some more unpacking and straightening. He found a place for the coffee table that was out of the way, but still useful (I have a couple of books I’m reading on it now, tissues, and a big and old Britannica World Atlas). Obviously very tired, we went to bed probably 11ish. Both of us got up about 7:30 or so and got showers then instead of eating some of the relatively healthy food Mom bought us the day before at Wal-Mart, Paul insisted on going to a Shipley’s Donuts just up the road. He claims they’re better than Krispe Kreme. I beg to differ, but will admit they are good (for instance, I never saw a “Bulls Eye” donut at a Krispe Kreme…but nothing can beat a fluffy, hot/now donut at Krispe Kreme).

He ducked out at around 9am because he had to work that afternoon. Mom and dad stuck around for a little more time as we turned the truck back in and I took them on a nickel tour of the city. When turning the truck back in, it was a madhouse. It wasn’t any of the local Penske’s fault, it was just the nature of the business in the town it was in and at the time of year (a truck rental place in a predominantly college town right before classes start). They ducked out right before lunch and I unpacked and straightened for the rest of the day and watched a lot of TV (I didn’t really feel like straightening…I was pooped out). I also called to schedule getting my cable internet hooked up. The date they gave me was the 22nd. They ended up coming on Saturday—they called me on Thursday afternoon to reschedule, so it was no big surprise.

Oxford Pt. 1 (more to come later)

Here are a few highlights of my first two weeks now here in Oxford. Nothing terribly exciting happened, I’m still technically getting settled in, but I am beginning to slow down and relax from what amounted to nearly two and a half months of moving. There will be two more parts so I don’t overwhelm my alert readers. I’ll try and have the rest out by mid-week.

My dad and I got to Oxford with on a Sunday night and stayed at a Days Inn right near my apartment (about 1/3 of a mile). We ate Subway that night and watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban around his laptop. Not the ideal watching environment, but I couldn’t argue with the company. I got up the next morning early, got a shower, got breakfast, then went out to get my proof of income and the keys to my apartment. I let dad sleep in until he woke up since he hadn’t been feeling well for a few days before hand and he didn’t’ need to come out with me to do anything unless he wanted to. I got all that stuff taken care of and got to my apartment about 9:30 and unloaded my car, all the while trying to visualize where things would go. The AC was running full blast. The doorknob had condensation on it when I first got here (more on the ongoing AC saga later).

I got back to the Days Inn and rested for a bit in a cool room. Then my dad and I took the truck, parked it in a good spot (the ramp on the sidewalk), and did some light fairly leisurely unloading and unpacking. Given that it was in the already in the mid-upper nineties at 11am, we took frequent water/Gatorade breaks. We were awaiting some more help in the form of my brother in law (strong legs and strong back) and my mother (for logistics). They arrived about a half hour late because they took a wrong turn around Tupelo. It was no big deal for me and dad because we had a nice cool apartment to rest in.

They arrived at around 12-12:30p. We did some more unloading with the stronger back/legs and more logistical support. We then all decided we were hungry and I ordered some delivery from Roly Poly. That took about a half hour to get here, and was a welcome break for us all, because we had sustenance, and also some furniture to put the food on whilst we ate.

We did some more unloading then took a bit of a rest. Then my brother in law and I took a nickel tour of the city while my mom and dad rested and did some unpacking and straightening for me. We were waiting for some muscle from the church (Christ Pres) to arrive at around 6pm. They arrived promptly on time. Two former marines, and the starting center for Ole Miss’s football team.

Paul and I had gotten some recommendations on where to eat that night from a librarian while we were scouring the town for a map (as it turns out, we should have just gone to the C of Commerce, but we didn’t know where that was at the time…for future reference, it’s where Sorority Row intersects Jackson Ave.). Yes, we stopped at a library. I swear, these librarians are like geographers and maps. At any rate, we decided on a place called “Ajax”. Sort of a southern cusine type joint. Fried catfish, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, veggie plates, and much more. You get the idea. It was right on the Square, at the heart of downtown Oxford. It seems like a nice enough place, and I think it’s going to be the place that Mom and Dad, and Paul will want to go if/when they ever come to visit. There are other places on the Square to eat, but I haven’t yet had enough time to explore (for instance, there’s an Italian place named Old Venice, where I ate on Monday that has a good pizza and was allegedly voted Mississippi’s best pizza the past three or four years).

Pictures pt. 3 of 3.

1. Looking outside from my dining room.
2. My outside storage area.
If you have any special requests for pictures, I will try and honor them. I'll also try and get some pictures out and around Oxford once the temperature drops to below...say...95. A future post (probably tomorrow) will chronicle my first week in the home of the University of Mississippi.

Pictures pt. 2 of 3.

1. Dining room
2. Kitchen/laundry room (in the background).
3. Living room
4. Office/guest bedroom/(future) reading room. This room requires some more work, to be sure. Hopefully I can have it ready by Oct 13 (Ole Miss/Bama game).
5. My bookshelf (not sure why I took it, but whatever).

Pictures pt. 1 of 3.

There will be two more post, since apparently I can only upload five (5) pictures at once.
1. My bathroom
2. Another shot of my bathroom
3. My bedroom
4. My closet
5. My deck

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. For the longest time, I hadn't a thing to post about, then when life got exciting, my neighbors internet got real spotty and knowing I was soon to leave, I didn't feel like trying to find a remedy for the situation.

Alas, now that I am gainfully employed, I can afford my own internet, and that is set to be installed tomorrow between 1 and 5. I even got a wireless router so I can use my internet anywhere I see fit.

To make a long story short, I should have more to post about, and a more reliable connection with which to post at some point between 1 and 5 tomorrow. Keep an eye out. I'll sent out an e-mail when I become an active "Blogger" again.

It's 9:59...t-minus 1 minute until "Good Eats" on Food Network. Must go!

I used to live here...

I was just forwarded these pictures. They are interesting, to be sure. I'm surprised there wasn't more rot in the studs...

This is more for Kelly's edification than anyone else's, since everyone else (except for one of my former professors, apparently) who reads this blog has already seen it. This was mailed/postmarked exactly one month after my graduation and arrived in Prattville (don't ask how...since I told them to mail it to K&P in Northport on the commencement confirmation) and arrived in Prattville on Thursday, June 14th. It is now framed in a frame that is the same model of my bachelor's degree (purchased at Michaels) and is hanging where my bachelor's used to hang (I would hang both, but since it is so close to the time when I'm going to move, I see no need to hammer another hole into the wall yet.

So this is what I have to show for my two years of work, studying, research, etc. Now I have two diplomas/degrees, and no job. Hopefully I'll work on the latter before too terribly long.

More pictures

Again, I haven't a clue as to what I am doing here, except posting pictures. Here are three more (and the last three) "highlight" pictures. The first is a picture of a fully grown asparagus plant in a garden behind Stonewall Jackson's home (the building you see is the home. I couldn't take pictures inside, nor could I get a good angle on the outside to actually get a shot of it), the second, a picture of Read Mountain from a scenic view pull-off along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the third a view of the Roanoke Valley (though not the city of Roanoke, however) from the top of Roanoke Mountain. This was a little trek off the Blue Ridge Parkway (part of the parkway, just off the main road) up about 1000 feet from the parkway along a road that was about 6in. wider than my rental car--a Chevy Impala. I miss a turn, I either hit rock and swerve into a 1000 foot fall to the parkway, or just plunge headlong 1000 feet to the parkway. I lose either way. Since neither happened, fortunately, I won and my reward was a nice view of the valley.

Roanoke/Lexington Pictures

I actually have more pictures than I am about to post here (23 I believe), but I'm just posting the highlights here. Enjoy!

Not being as familiar with posting pictures as Kerry, I don't know how to get these in the correct order. I'll post more pictures later in the day. A couple more from the Lexington area, and a couple from along the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Roanoke. You should be able to tell which are which based on my description.

VMI Parade grounds, two shots of Stonewall Jackson monument statue/grave, and the VMI historical marker mentioning Jackson, Matthew Fontaine Maury, as well as George C. Marshall.

Roanoke Trip (pictures later)

I am sitting in the fabulous Charlotte Douglas International Airport right now in one of the rocking chairs in one of the many atrimus that dot the airport facility. My flight boards in a few minutes for Huntsville after which I have a two hour or so drive back to Tuscaloosa.

The trip went well, and Roanoke is a lovely town. I think I could be happy living there if I were to get the job. It was no more than 80 when I was there and the temperature when I left my motel this morning (about 5:45am EDT) was cool enough that I could see my breath. The last time I was able to do it this late in the year was when I was on Mt. Fuji, and that was in late July. Granted, it was probably unseasonably cool (they're talking about mid 90s on Friday and Saturday), but hey, when I was there it was VERY comfortable.

I have some pictures to post. Mostly of Lexington, and along the Blue Ridge Parkway (in fact, ALL of those), which I will later today/tomorrow.

(the remaining is typed some 30,000 feet above western North Carolina as they started boarding when I was typing)

I didn't get to go to Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee because 1). There was a baccalaureate service going on that was making use of the chapel and 2). The museum level (which contains R.E. Lee's remains) was closed anyway due to the addition of a new museum exhibit, or something like that. I got to walk around the campus a bit, however, just not near the chapel.

I did get to VMI and the Cadet Museum, as well as the George C. Marshall museum, both on VMI's campus. There was housed 1). The raincoat Stonewall Jackson was wearing when he got shot and 2). The uniform he was wearing on his three most legendary moments (marched out of Lexington in April 1861, nearly got captured by union troops, and when he got his nickname "Stonewall").

I also got a private tour of his house in Lexington, and walked to his grave, which is housed at a Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Lexington (Lauderdale ARP Church is the name, I believe).

I've been up since about 4:15am (CDT) and am slated to get back to Huntsville in just under an hour now.

One year ago today...

One year ago today (well, technically at about 2:30 tomorrow morning based on information available on the picture in iPhoto), I snapped one of my greatest pictures ever. My only regret...I wished I had snapped it at a higher resolution on my camera. I have a framed copy of it after playing around with it in Photoshop a bit, but it's not great when blown up. Just don't look at it too closely, and all is well...

I'm also including a link to a GoogleMaps air/satellite photo of the resort where I snapped the picture. You can't see much, but you'll have to trust me on this one. Click this for the image

Here's a link for the resort's website too.