I want to give google a big sloppy kiss!

I know I've blogged before about my undying love for google. But my love has gotten deeper and stronger. And before anyone gets dorky and says "Why don't you marry google?", well, because polygamy is illegal.

Igoogle, while it has always been awesome, has recently really blossomed into the coolest thing ever. I remember always thinking "What did we do without the internet?" Truth is, I can barely remember those days. Now I ask, "What did we do without google?"

Things I have on my igoogle:

Google Reader: This is my favorite. It's an RSS feed that allows me to add ALL the blogs I read. This keeps me from checking 12 blogs...if they updated, it's right there for me to see.

BeTwittered: Perfect for my new love of Twitter. I can see 10 twitters and twitter myself.

Gmail: I can see 8 or so emails, and compose from the page. If you haven't tried Gmail, why not? It's only the coolest email ever.

Craigslist monitor: Since we now have craigslist in Hickory (!!!) , this is the coolest. You can add 3 pages on craigslist that it will watch and inform you any time they add something.

Google Bookmarks: Because everyone needs bookmarks.

Google Calendar: Best calendar I've ever found. Makes it super easy to switch between day, week, month or whatever. On the igoogle page, it shows as a month, with the day highlighted, and a list of everything that I have to do that day.

Quick Blog: I haven't used this yet, but it lets me post short blog entries from my home page.

Wikipedia: Just a search box, but I love it.

Picasa Web Photos: In addition to providing a link to my photos, it shows a random slideshow of all the pictures I have there.

Weather: I don't like to search for weather...this just shows me nice and easy.

Reuters Oddly Enough: Can always be counted on to give me 3 unusual stories a day.

Myspace quick login: Because I hate the sign in page on myspace. It takes forever to load, just so I can login. This skips that step.

Google Notebook: Handy as a place to dump any info I need to hold onto.

Google Dual Mode Calculator: COOL COOL COOL. It has a regular calculator, or a google calculator, where you can type such things as "half a cup in teaspoons" and get the answer "24 US teaspoons".

Change Document to PDF:Only occasionally handy, and self explanatory.

Search Boxes for IMDB, Ebay, the White Pages and the Yellow Pages: Just search boxes to save me time.

Google Docs: Are you the kind of person who does some work at home and some at work? Do you have different programs, or get sick of having to carry jump drives back and forth? Enter google docs. It lets you create and/or save spreadsheets, text files and powerpoint type presentations. Then, you can get them from anyone.

There is nothing that I need to do on the internet that I cannot see or access from the very first page that comes up when I click on firefox. Awesome!

Do you know of any other cool gadgets that I can't live without?


PS-Allison and I were discussing the fabulous feeling we both experience linking. What is it about links that makes me so happy?

Allison's Love Poem

So, sometimes Allison and I get bored. And we're silly. And we love the internet and technology. Did I mention we are silly? We want to present to you a dramatic reading of Allison's love poem to Eric Tucker. Enjoy. Oh, I know you will.

Allison's poem.mp3

If you were worried/ Hodgepodge

If you were worried about me, I'm ok now. Took me a couple of days to recover from my bad day, but except for the no money thing, all is well.

Jon still hasn't passed his stone, but he hasn't been in as much pain.

I am feeling really good about not teaching next year. It's a little (ok, a whole whole lot) terrifying. I can't recall a time that I haven't had a job-not since I was 16! But, I'm looking at it this way: I don't love teaching. This is my chance to see if there is something else I would love. If not, I'll come back to teaching, which is pretty good.

Gonna need a new blog name, though.

Hey Matt-if you're reading this, welcome to my blog!
Allison and I went to Matt's house last night, and tried to explain the beauty of a blog. I'm not sure we did a good job.

Plans for the weekend-school party tonight, which should be ok. Jon is out of town tomorrow, so (if I get paid) I'll do all of our boring shopping, and maybe do some hanging out with Allison. Sunday, we hope to go to Boone. We'll see how that goes. And I'm extending my weekend to Monday, because I have lots of sick days left, and I hate Mondays. But I've got no plans for that yet.

We're going to try this whole me running the photography business thing. Got any brilliant ideas for me? Let me know! Know anyone that needs pictures? Let me know that too. Or, go to www.jeckard.com.

And there was just an announcement saying we got paid. Whew. So shopping it is!

No money

For some reason, the school system has not paid its employees on the scheduled day. I'm supposed to have a months worth on money in my account now, and there are not the right amount of digits in my bank account. The whole school seems terrified, as teachers are well known for living paycheck to paycheck.

School system: I would like to be paid now, please.

If you knew me in my previous life...

...then you may know my ex, Satterfield. If so, he'll be on So You Think You Can Dance tonight. Probably.

Yesterday was all kinds of sucky.

Do you ever have one of those days when you think "This is the worst day ever", and then something else happens that just makes you want to cry? This was my yesterday.

First, after 4 days, I still had cramps.
Then, I got a call from the assistant superintendent of the schools that I needed to meet with her, which made me feel pretty panicky.
Then, I hit my knuckle on a brick wall, and made it all bloody and ouchy.

This is where it gets worse.

My meeting with the assistant superintendent...basically, without going into much detail, because I don't want to and I'm the boss of this blog, I resigned as of June 13. You all know I was going to resign on December 18, so I guess it isn't the worst thing in the whole world, but it felt like it. Basically, if I were to quit halfway through the year, which they are aware I was planning, I would forever be unhirable in the county. And I'm not really all about burning bridges, because who knows what the future holds. But, I am 100% firm that I will not ever be going back to the school I was at. So, end of the year it is. Resignation is signed and sealed.

This is where it gets worse again.

As I'm on the couch crying and feeling sorry for myself, Jon, who has been complaining of slight kidney pain for a couple of weeks, goes to the bathroom. And then I hear very pain induced moans. And then I hear vomit. Then I hear more vomit. Then I hear more vomit. And then I hear more pain induced moans. So, to the emergency room we go, because Jon's not in the habit of moaning and vomiting unless he really means it.

In the car, he threw up all over himself, bless his heart, so we go into the hospital shirtless. It takes them an hour and 45 minutes to get some nausea medicine and pain medicine in him. He threw up 17 times at the hospital. Yes, I said 17. Add that the the 4 or 5 at home, and 1 in the car, that's a lot of vomit, folks. The problem? Kidney stones. It looks like this one is a little too big to pass, but he has to try for a week before they'll go in and bust it up. The worse news is that the cat scan showed lots more of those suckers in his kidneys. They don't hurt in your kidney...only when they come out...but he's like a walking, ticking pain bomb.

And remember those cramps that I mentioned...those day 4 cramps? Yes, well (Boys, don't read this cause I'll be embarrassed) about 2 hours into our hospital trip, I bled all over my pants. Like I was in 7th grade. And I do mean noticeably, all over my pants. And, I had given myself a raging headache from all the crying like a little girl.

So you see, as far as I can tell, nothing good happened yesterday, and lots of bad things occurred. And the bad things aren't all things that are over the next day-I'm still jobless, and Jon is still in bed in pain, and I have no idea when it will ease up for him.

But the good news-My knuckle feels better, and my cramps seem to finally be gone.

The long weekend

Saturday morning, as Jon was heading out of town, I got invited to go on a boat! And that was exciting, until I got cramps 10 minutes later. Now ladies, are you with me here in thinking that getting cramps means you shouldn't go on a boat? Because "on a boat" means "without a bathroom". So, instead, I layed on my couch ALL DAY long. And yes, I do mean all day. There was a brief break when Allison and I got in the car and drove to get a brownie from McGuires-but we got it to go, so we could get back to sitting on the couch. Then, we watched Son-In-Law, which I'd never seen. I thought it was delightful. Until I spilled my brownie, ice cream, and hot fudge in my lap. Because I'm seriously that cool. Sunday was actually equally thrilling...there was a lot of couch sitting then too. My cramps were extra bad this time, and why would I get off the couch if it wasn't necessary?

I am proud of the weekend's one achievement: I went through my clothes, putting warm stuff away, and getting all my summer clothing organized. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad it's done.

Monday was by far the high point of the weekend. We were supposed to go on that boat again, but that fell through. So, I spent about 10 minutes being bummed before we decided to go to Matt's house instead. We've been friends with Matt all throughout the cold weather, I guess, and had never been in his back yard. Last week, his sister mentioned that he has a pool! It's true, and I can't believe he never mentioned it.

We ended up spending hours at Matt's house, where Bertha learned that she loves the swimming pool. There were lots of kids around...nieces and nephews of Matt and his sister...it was really delightful. Once we taught the kids the rules to playing fetch with Bertha in the pool, everyone had a great time. Then, we stumbled home and fell in bed. I give it 5 stars.

:)

I don't have time for a whole blog entry now, but suffice it to say that I had a great weekend, and my dog likes to swim!

Deus Ex Machina

For years Tweetsie Railroad has been in imminent danger of closing. There have been whispers of the current season being the last even since I worked there in 00/01. This has been mainly caused by the lease agreement Tweetsie had with the owners of the land. Tweetsie doesn't actually own any land. They leased the land 55 years ago for $1 a year for 50 years. Minority owners of the land have threatened all of those other years to increase the rent, which is reasonable since prime land in the mountains is worth far more than $1, of course. The problem is that Tweetsie runs on a very tight budget. When I worked there, it took $200 worth of coal to run the train around the track one time. And that's just coal...so tickets are already pricey, and there isn't extra money.

All this has been personally distressing, because I really want my future child to be able to experience the history combined with silliness that is Tweetsie.

Catawba county has bailed them out. They are shelling out $3.15 million to become part owners in the land, which has allowed Tweetsie to extend the $1 a year lease arrangement until 2065. Which is definitely long enough for me to take a child of mine there. Awesome! As part of the agreement, Tweetsie has agreed to spend $13 million (I'm not sure where that money is supposed to come from) over the next 20 years on improvements and expansions to the park. They will also build a portion of the Middle Fork Greenway across its property for public use. This will eventually create a bike and pedestrian path between Blowing Rock and Boone.

I think lots of business owners in Boone are breathing a sigh of relief. Tweetsie Railroad, as silly as it is, brings lots and lots of tourist dollars to the area, and people really count on that. Especially if the world gets too hot for Boone to have ski slopes.

I have been assured...

I have been assured that all gossip that I heard about the place I applied to teach camp (XXXX in earlier posts) is untrue. I am choosing to believe it. I have been informed that they simply didn't interview me again because my schedule didn't work with what they needed. I am also choosing to believe that.

Perhaps I may also choose to believe that chocolate and huge steaks are good for me, and then I'll be really happy.

Mind Tricks

Now... just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.
Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one.
You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind.
You'll be surprised.
Start:
How much is:
15 + 6
3 + 56
89 + 2
12 + 53
75 + 26
25 + 52
63 + 32
I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over..
Come on, one more!
123 + 5
QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!

Click here!

I love cooking out.

I'm so glad it's been so pretty lately. It makes cookouts so much better. Last night was a fabulous example of a great cookout.

My favorite people to have over for cookouts-Allison and Matt.

BBQ chicken on the grill was oh so good.

The corn, I cooked on the grill. Unfortunately, the butter dripped down and caught my grill on fire. But that really gave the chicken a good flavor, so all is well.

And the mashed potatoes. Wow. I'm skilled at making mashed potatoes, although Allison and Jon did all the unpleasant stuff. I really just did the last step...the adding of things other than potatoes and the thourough mixing.

And the salad-I think my salads are usually the best part. And these salads were good. But everything else was so yummy that I'm not sure that was the best last night.

But, alas, I didn't make desert. So what in the world were we supposed to do other than go to Dairy Queen? I mean, I couldn't come up with anything better than that.

And then, Cloverfield, which was awesome. Kind of like Blair Witch...kind of like Godzilla, but at least twice as good as either one.

And something else awesome about the evening...at 9:30, we were done with all of that. So I didn't even have to stay up late! It was awesome.

My life is swell.

Know what's annoying?

When people leave comments that are actually just ads for whatever they are selling. Note to people like that: Stop it! I'm just going to delete your comment. No one will see it, and I will never buy what you are selling.

An open letter to the director of education at the XXXX:

Dear ma'am:
It is not typically in the good interest of a business to run things the way you do. Firstly, it isn't considered a good thing to be the one thing people mention in the "but" section when explaining why they like working at the XXXX. As in, "I love working at the XXXX, but the Education Director is a terror to work for." But even after hearing that from 5 different people, I still applied for a job for Summer Fun. Because I was assured that Summer Fun wasn't directly under you. I had my first interview, with a lovely lady who actually runs Summer Fun, and it went really well. So, we scheduled an appointment for an interview with you and her. I left school early, prepared for the interview, and got myself all nervous. And then you didn't show up. Very professional, may I say. After I'd interviewed for the second time with this lady, you walked by in the hall. She told you about the interview you missed. You snapped at her, like she was a three year old child, when it was obviously your fault. And just so we're clear, you are certainly the one that came off looking unprofessional. So, I was told that you would schedule an interview with me in the coming weeks. This was the last time I heard from the XXXX until a couple of days ago, when I contacted the lady I had been communicating with. She told me that without interviewing me, you filled all of the positions.

Now, some back story. Apparently, you filled said positions only with people who are your friends, with the exception of a couple of people whose hiring gave you political advantage. And some more back story...a few months back you and your friends came frequently to my trivia game. Then, you got very drunk. And then your entire table would argue with me about my answers. This is how you know me. This is the only way you know me. You do not know, for example, that I teach school, and have worked with 700 kids a week for 4 years. You do not know, for example, that I have a magic touch with kids, and they flock to me. You do not know, for example, that I strive to make every class I teach very fun, and you do not know, for example, that my students talk about my class frequently when they aren't in here, and count down the days until they can come back. These things, you would have known had you bothered yourself to show up for my interview, or reschedule. Instead of knowing these things, and actually hiring someone who would have done a completely stellar job working for you, you did what you did. Which was make a judgement about someone that you don't know, and run with it. People do this all the time. But I would think that someone in a position of authority would have a little more maturity under their belt. You don't like me, because of Trivia Night. I don't know if it is because you were always sloppy drunk, or because I wouldn't accept your team's wrong answers. I don't know if it is because you don't want someone working for you that works in a bar. If this is the case, I'd have to call you a hypocrite, since you were the one drinking, and not me. Me myself, I don't even drink. Regardless of who I am at trivia, I am an excellent teacher. These are 2 very different and necessary outlets for me.

I have a real problem with a person who calls herself an "education director" behaving in this way. I think it is unethical to take someone who has been recommended, who has good references and a teaching degree, and not interview them because you don't like something in them that you saw at a bar 6 months ago. Shame on you. This is why the XXXX's management is considered the laughing stock of the XXXX (building in which said business is located).

I hope that your incompetence continues to make your life more difficult. Maybe at some point, your boss will realize that everyone hates you, and you run your business more like a middle school clique than an actual business.

I wouldn't work for you under any circumstance now. And you know what? Your XXXX is worse off for it.

Sincerely,
Carmen Eckard

Chicks

In the world of 3rd-6th graders, today is a stressful day. It's the first day of the dreaded End of Grade test! I could see the fear radiating off the kids walking down the hall. It seems to be a lot of unnecessary stress for some little kids. But that's an entirely different blog entry.

In the world of 2nd graders here at my school, it's time for the chickens to hatch!

If you would like to watch me lose...

Spring Fling

Today was the Spring Fling at school. It was kind of cute. They had a helicopter land to spice it up. Lookie!

What to do when you are attacked:

Wow. Impressive. And in my old town, too.

Tests

I took a few personality/career tests. Most of what I found wasn't surprising. I took 3 tests. One said I should be a performer. The other two said I should be a boss, basically, but ranked me high on performer and creative endeavors.

The test that provided the above graphic said that I would be 100% matched to a management position and 90% matched with media and entertainment.

I think this all points to Jon and I going into business together. He would love a boss, I like to be a boss, and there would still be room for my creative talents. What's ascary about that is, it's scary. Who knows if it will work. I have a nice steady income now. However, we have till January, so perhaps we could start over the summer, and prepare ourselves. I'm still open to other ideas, but these tests made me feel better.

I think if our well being, and my ability to shop, were hanging in the balance, I would for sure bust my butt and it would be successful. What do you think?

Career Options

I've been doing a lot of brainstorming about possible career choices. I'm limiting myself by this fact-I really don't want to go back to school unless it is totally necessary. Some options:

The most feasible: I go into business with Jon. It only takes a glance at his pictures to see that this is a super talented man. However, he's not really big on going out and promoting himself, and drumming up business. We could have some sort of business together, with me handling all of the business and advertising needs, and him taking the pictures. Also, for weddings, we could do a pretty elaborate package, with me doing videography, and Jon handling the photography. With this plan, I could also do karaoke (at somewhere other than McGuires) a couple of nights a week.

Allison says I should be a gameshow host. Which is very appealing for me. But how? I could totally come up with a great premise, and all of that. I wouldn't want to deal with the rest. I'd like to come up with a game, make questions each week, and record...then be done. Don't know if that could happen.

Science Center/Art Museum/Library. I'm lumping, because I'd just love to work at the Salt Block. This would let me still work with kids sometimes. And I actually like kids a lot.

I'm still open for suggestions...to help, here is a list of things I love/am good at.

Anything that involves a microphone in my hand.
I'm great with kids.
I'm pretty durned creative.
I've got a lot of patience.
I've got good computer skills.
I love to cook, but I don't want to cook in a restaurant.
I'm pretty good at making movies for things...although I've never made an actual movie, as in a story that I shoot then edit.
I like to write.
I work well under pressure.
I'm flexible.
I'm good at integrating technology with other things.
I'm charming and personable when needed.

Things I'm not good at:
Anything mind numbing. I bore easily.
Honestly, I'm not good at working under bossy people.
I'm messy.
I'm pretty unorganized, except for computer things.
I'm not good at being nice to people I don't care for, which is sometimes a real problem in work environments. This mainly effects people that I have to see a lot...not customers that I don't have to deal with for long.
Sometimes I get really interested in something for a while, then get totally bored of it.

So, I don't know. Help!

If anyone was wondering why I love my husband...

Well, here's a great reason for you. He's always doing thoughtful things like making boquets and putting them in our living room.

Aren't these loverly?

Bam!

Sqrambled Scuares

So, I was on the game show last night. The pictures, unfortunately, turned out much better than my performance. There were 2 puzzles, of which I got 0 solved.

That's Buzz up there, drinking crisco, or some crisco colored beverage. He was a silly guy, but fun.

Above is the only time I wasn't losing. The girl kept drawing cards that took points from me, plus she was a far superior player.
The game show will air here on channel 33 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week at 9.
But I did not go home empty handed...oh no. I got a $25 gift certificate to Golden Corral, also known as the only restaurant Jon actually hates. Oh well.

Having some trouble uploading the movie, but I'll post it here soon.

So much has happened

So much has happened since last we talked, internet. I apologize for my busy-ness. I am finally for real and for true finished with my movie project. I thought I was through, but after burning a DVD and watching it, I found some things I wanted to fix. And then my computer crashed, and ate the file. It completely dissappeared, which made me panic and cry. But then I remembered the DVD. I was able to use that , but all my files were compressed so editing became much harder. But, it's all good now.

I went to visit my mom and my extended family over the weekend. I left Jon at home, and I missed him a lot, but I desperately needed some time with my mom.

My mama

I'm making it a goal to take a picture of all the houses I've lived in. I've lived in a lot, so it will probably take a while.

This is the first house I ever lived in. The bathroom wall was lined with mirrors so you could see yourself when you went pee.

I got a chance to play with my littlest cousins. I'm the oldest, and 6 years after I was born, there came 5 more in rapid succession, and then just a few years ago, my youngest aunt started having kids. So there are 3 that are much younger than the rest of us, and they are really adorable and fun. The oldest sometimes acts like she doesn't know me, and if she does know me, she certainly doesn't like me...but this time she was sweet and friendly.

My cousin Gavin (the middle of the 3 little ones), helping my Granddad clean the yard.

I've decided to make a movie to document my family, and the history therein. I feel like I'm pretty lucky because I grew up in a family where I not only knew all my cousins, I saw them so much I got tired of them. We have even had a yearly beach trip my entire life-one week at the beach with the grandparents, parents, and all the kids. Last count, 20 people in one house. Yikes. So this year, Jon and I are going to go down for a couple of days and stay in a hotel. This will be a much much better situation for me.

Now for another topic-anyone who knows me or has been reading this blog may remember how completely unhappy I was at the last school I was at. I dreaded every day...I couldn't sleep at night, and my stomach turned bad on me. Then, I came to the school I am at now, and it was so wonderful. I've never liked my job like I do here. It's exciting and fun, and people are wonderful. But, I'm on a split schedule...1/2 a year at each school. And I had been in talks with the school system to stay here full time and maybe teach computers, or at least go to a different school. Alas, it isn't happening. If I want to keep doing this, I have to do it at both the good school and the bad school. And I can't. I can't willingly accept a job that I know makes me sick. I stay here till January, then I'm supposed to switch. So, I have till January to find a new job. Career. I have till January to decide what I want to be when I grow up. And folks, I just don't know! Any ideas?

Oh glorious news!

DONE.

Awesome!

1st Grade: On a field trip.
2nd Grade: On a field trip.
Kinders: On a field trip. (Are you noticing a rocking cool theme?)
3rd Grade: I film with them today.
4th Grade: I film my favorite skit...a cool dream sequence.
5th and 6th Grade: It's my day to tutor instead of teaching those guys.

Ladies and gentlemen...I may finish this project by the end of the day!!! Thank the good Lord above.

Scrambled Squares

Internet, let me assure you that I love you deeply, and I miss you. I'm currently smack dab in the middle of this project, and the good news is that it is going really well. The bad news is, I'm exhausted.

I'm going to be on Scrambled Squares, the High Country's own game show. :) It's silly, but I'm excited. It films on Tuesday and will air the next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

I promise a good long blog entry when this all calms down.

Voting Day

The big day is here. Please go vote. It should be a record breaking year. More people my age are voting these days than ever before. Please go vote, guys. Mainly because then you can complain about the governement. In my opinion, people who don't vote should be eternally banned from griping about our government.

It's a close race here in NC. Your voice will actually count for once, so please use it. Pretty please.

View from Howard's Knob

Near the top left corner you'll see a pink apartment building...it's the last building before the bunch of woods. The building one closer to town, a long brick building, is where Allison and I lived in college. I love that town. Jon, Allison, Matt and I spent the day in Boone Saturday, and it was so very nice. We walked around campus, went to Howards Knob and Murphy's, and generally enjoyed the day.

Fill in the blank

finish this.....

1. I've come to realize that my last kiss...... was beautifully comfortable.

2. I am listening to .....Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley.

3. I live ......in Hickory with my husband Jon, my dog Bertha, and my cat Cheddar, with my best friend one door down.

4. I love ...... pretty much everything in my life right this minute.

5. My best friend ....... is even more fun, the longer I know her.

6. My first real kiss ....... was during the movie Grumpy Old Men when I was 12.

8. I hate it when people ask me ...... to keep a secret.

9. Love ...... seems pretty necessary to me.

10. Marriage ..... bigger than a sentence I could write. Lovely, intense, scary, warm, hard, forgiving, sensible and sensitive.

11. Somewhere, someone is thinking ......that some one else is the cause of their unhappiness.

12. I'll always have ..... my charm.

13. I have a secret crush ...... on no one really.

14. The last time I cried was ..... this morning. I'm a big crier. It's pretty irritating to those close to me, I'm sure.

15. My cell phone is ...... my alarm clock too.

16. When I wake up in the morning ...... turn off the alarm, turn over and hug my husband.

17. Before I go to bed ...... turn on the alarm, turn over and hug my husband.

18. Right now I am thinking about ..... the movie project for school. I have writers block when it comes to the last play, and so I'm doing this survey thing.

19. Babies are ..... kind of scary for me. But I could totally be into a toddler.

20. I get on myspace ..... to check my messages every now and again.

21. Today I ..... went shopping with my husband.

22. Tonight I will ...... finish this script, hopefully.

23. Tomorrow I will be ..... Shooting the school movie, writing trivia questions, teaching other classes, running a trivia game.

24. I really want to be ....... perfect.

25. Your favorite pet..... is Bertha, my precious dog, who frequently appears on this blog. She is currently sitting on her orange chair, looking at me expectantly. In her chair she has her pillow, her dog pillow, a stuffed dog, a beaver puppet, a golf ball, and a golf ball sized tennis ball. She has no real need to ever leave that spot.

Ally's Birthday

Me and my bestest friend.

The waitress, who didn't like to get my order right at all, did like to shove things in Allison's face. Look at the look on her face!

Rain

It's going to rain tomorrow, which will mean that it has rained 8 of the last 9 Saturdays. Bother. Grandfather Mountain really won't be much fun in the rain. Allison, any alternate plan ideas?

5 years ago, about right now

5 years ago, about right now, I was on the phone with my landlord, who was fussing at me for the enormous party we'd thrown for Allison's 21st the night before. About 5 years ago from 5 minutes from now, I was in pajamas with trashbags picking up oh, maybe 300 cups and beer cans. Allison, I know last night wasn't as exciting as all that, but I still had fun.

Last night after we ate dinner for Allison's birthday, we came home and sat in the living room for 3 minutes. Then, a transformer exploded and we lost power to the whole building. On Allison's birthday. And then she couldn't watch American Idol, and everyone was sad. Personally, I waited it out at McGuires.