Last night at work sucked. No surprise there, but it sucked for an entirely different reason.

Usually, on Thursday nights we have a bus person (usually a high school girl) come on to clear tables, since we waiters are usually too busy trying to serve customers. Last night, however, our designated bus person, Stephanie, didn't bother to show up.

This is not the first time she has done this. Last Thursday she pulled this stunt as well. Yet she will probably be there tonight without any sort of punishment or disciplining. Our emplyee manual (such as it is) states that anyone who doesn't show up for even ONE shift without calling or making arrangements will be fired.

The problem is that Stephanie's mom is best friends with Sheila, our head waitress. Nothing was said to her (to my knowledge) last week. It's crap like this that makes me want to just run off screaming and get a cave in the hills to live in.

I went to work this morning for lunch, but I was told I wasn't needed until tonight, so I'm here updating my blog.

The leaves are beginning to change here in the mountains, and fall is here with a vengeance. The night before last it got down to 29 on the mountain. Luckily, I was at Kathy's, where it only got down to the mid 30s. She's still sick, and I can't kiss her because she has a cold sore. I am really starting to jones for a kiss REAL bad!

Junior Ward brought the Jeep back from his place yesterday. The good news is that it has reverse gear, which puts it one up on the Corsica. The bad news is that it's difficult to shift, the brakes are damn near nonexistant, the steering wheel has way too much play in it, and Junior wasn't able to fix the tailgate. I wish I had a REAL job so I could get another car, pay off my student loans, save some money for a change, etc. etc. etc.

Bailey and Possum are doing well. It's so cute when I feed them in the mornings and they both now go to their respective bowls automatically. I also notice they hang out together a lot, at least when Uncle Wendell's dog Molly isn't around. Maybe I can post a piccie of them some time.

Another banner day at work tonight. It was slow as Hell, and I made about $25 in tips. Oh well, at least I was able to get out of there before 9:00 tonight.

I have the next two nights off, and I plan on spending at least one of them with Kathy. She finally seems to be getting over her bronchitis, although she tells me she still has her cold sore. I can't kiss her until it's gone, for fear of catching my OWN cold sore. :( I just want to be able to be with her without being afraid of getting sick in one form or another.

Applied for a few more jobs today (online). I really hope something comes along soon. I am so tired of not being able to do NOTHING with my degree.

Much thanks to Cali for the redesign on my blog. Hopefully I will be able to get the rest of my site updated in the near future. I have talked with someone here about doing a photo shoot, and I hope to be able to post those pics on the site soon.

I also have a column idea or two, but I can't seem to motivate myself into writing them. Maybe soon. Maybe soon.

I finally got rid of the headache, but not before two Actifed, four hours of sleep, and a hearty dinner of pot roast leftovers and sweet tea. I'm still coughing a little as I write this, but I think whatever it is that I may or may not have will blow over soon.

I really need another job. Tonight, as I was talking to Kathy, she reminded me of my responsibilities to my pets and their well-being. Bailey needs to be on heartworm medicine, and I haven't given her any since I got her from Diona back in February. Of course it costs money to get her examined and to give her medicine, and she needs rabies shots, and I feel guilty for not having taken her to the vet, and... <> I just feel absolutely awful emotionally right now.

I really want something funny or cool to write about here.

Feeling lousy today. I think my allergies are catching up with me. Or maybe Kathy gave me something; she's been feeling kinda poorly the past week. We'll see.

I went to Kathy's mom's to have dinner last night. She made Yankee pot roast and salad. It was pretty good stuff, and of course the company was fantastic. :)

More later; I have to get rid of this headache.

Obviously the events of the past week are weighing on everyone's mind, and I am no exception. I have tried to come up with some words to express my feelings at this moment in history, but I can find none.

Of course, I am greatly saddened at the untimely loss of so many people in one fell swoop. But beyond that I have a jumble of mixed emotions over what we as a nation should do next. I AM angry at the perpetrators of this action, whoever they may be (and it seems we are getting close to confirming that it was Osama Bin Laden). The baser instincts of my soul tell me that he should be hunted down and killed, as should his associates.

But then I think "and then what?" Will it bring any of the people back to life that died this past Tuesday? Will it restore the missing chunk that was taken out of the Pentagon? Will it magically rebuild the World Trade Center? Unfortunately I don't think it will. I don't even think killing Bin Laden (or whoever is responsible) will stop other terrorist groups from attempting similar plans for whatever nefarious reasons they may have.

So what is the answer? I don't know. All I know is that I am sick and tired of people at work and on radio talking about turning Afghanistan into a "glass puddle". I'm sick of people thinking that this will turn into World War III. I'm tired of being told that Americans' moods are going to be permanently changed by this. Let's just find whoever's responsible, bring him before the World Court, try him, convict him, and send him to Antarctica.

Good news from Davisboro, by way of Boone. I called the house down yonder, and my brother's fiancee Sionan informed me that the tests came back negative. As in, the blockage has disappeared. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I'm chalking it up to a miracle.

In other news, I got the tire changed on my car this morning. $70. Yech! To pile onto the early morning surprises, the driver of the tow truck that picked up my Corsica was part of a 3-person party I waited on last Saturday at Mike's. He asked me if I would talk to the owner about adding shrimp Scampi to the menu. Not if I keep getting $1 tips from you people, I thought to myself.

After that excitement, I went to get my hair cut. Alecia talked me into getting highlights in my hair. I'm still wavering on whether it looks good or not. I'll post a picture soon, and let you be the judge. That's all for now. Stay tuned for a very special episode of "Blossom".

I suppose I should mention right off the bat that as I type this, I am sitting in the Appalachian State University music library. I'm here with Kathy while she completes a research assignment for one of her classes. The reason why is that I had my second flat tire in three days' time this afternoon. Allow me to explain:

Kathy spent the night at my house Friday night. While there, I suggested that we go out to Banner Elk to eat dinner. Well, when we got into town, my right rear tire blew out, and I had to call my uncle Wendell to help me out. We managed to get the car to an Exxon station, where I spent $50 to get a new tire put on.

Then this afternoon, after spending a few quality hours with my girlfriend, she was going to show me the music dept. building at ASU before I headed for home. However, when I got in the car, it felt really rough as I pulled out of the parking place. Turns out that my right FRONT tire went flat as well. *sigh* Well, I guess I have to wait to get it fixed tomorrow.

In the meantime, a few interesting notes. First, I had a bit of excitement as I was driving home from work last night. I was giving a waitress named Tiffney a ride home, and we had stopped to get some gas. As we left, she noticed a car behind us. I looked, and the car had no headlights on. As we turned off the main road, the car followed (without using a turn signal).

At one point, there was a wide place in the road, and I pulled to the right, hoping whoever it was would pass me on the left. Instead, he kept pace behind me.

Suitably weirded out, I turned off at the entrance to a subdivision. Naturally, the car followed me. However, I doubled back and headed back onto the road. As I did, I heard the driver shout something at me, but I paid no attention to him. I just kept going down the mountain.

Then there was church this morning. I went down the driveway from my house to Beech Mountain Missionary Church for the first time since I moved back to NC. It was my family's home church for several years, and in fact I was baptised there 25 years ago this week. I felt the need to go there for reasons I will go into in a few paragraphs. Anyway...

I went there, and of course people were glad to see me back there. The thing that struck me the most, however, was the fact that there was a guest preacher there. He was a West Indian (didn't catch his name), and preached a good sermon. In any case I didn't get to hear all of it. Here's why:

My dog Bailey followed me down from the house to the church, and despite my
best efforts to shoo her back home, she stayed and hung out at the church entrance. The preacher even made a note of it, saying that instead of the old hymn There's a Stranger at the Door, Let Him In, we should sing "There's a Dog at the Door".

Well, the preacher went on with his sermon, and I listened to him. However, in the middle of the service, Bailey began to vocalize. She wasn't barking or howling or whining; it's kind of hard to describe the noise she did make. Suffice it to say, she made it often and loudly enough that I was compelled to leave theservice and take her home, like I was taking a whining 3-year old home for crying in church.

The reason I went to BMMC today was that I found out that my dad is going in for an angioplasty tomorrow. If he's lucky, that's all he'll have to endure. If not, he faces the possibility of open-heart surgery. I'll be honest, I'm kinda nervous for him right now. I really hope everything goes well for him tomorrow.

Well, I had a rather eventful weekend this Labor Day. Kathy and I went camping in Savannah GA. We took her Westie Heather with us. We were going to camp on Skidaway Island, but when we got to the state park, there was a sign saying it was full up. We then went in search of a hotel that would take us and our little dog, too. Finally found a Red Roof Inn that would satisfy.

The next morning we got hooked up with another campground, on Tybee Island. We made camp and all was well, until I started getting a sinus headache. I think it was from Heather, but I can't say for sure. Kathy and I went and got some Thai food for lunch, but my headache (and subsequent nausea) kept me from enjoying it or even finishing my entree. We went back and Kathy began to practice guitar, but then the skies opened up and we huddled in the tent. We tried getting romantic, but I was too sick, and tired.

The next day was better, as my allergy/flu/whatever subsided, and we tooled around Savannah for a while. We went to Churchill's downtown and had some authentic English cuisine. Forget what you may have heard jokingly said about British food, this stuff kicked ass! Churchill's get's my enthusiastic thumbs up.

Sunday night we went to my parents' place in Davisboro. The whole family was there (except for my nieces Heather and Tiffany), and we sat around singing and telling stories. Everybody seemed comfortable with Kathy, and vice versa.

We came home Monday, and nothing spectacular happened to us. Oh, I did forget to mention the $115 speeding ticket I got in Lenoir on the way down. I'm going to see the DA there ASAP to see if I can't get it reduced. This was my first speeding ticket in almost a decade.

Kathy's sick right now, and at home at the moment. Hopefully she'll be well enough to come here to my house this weekend. She's promised to give shots to my dog and kitten when she's here.