Just got back to Lexington from our Winter Wonderland of Death tour (aka Christmas with Kathy's brother and my parents). We left Davisboro GA at about 10:30 this morning and got back here just after 11 pm. It would've been a quicker trip, but we made a few stops in Augusta and Charlotte along the way. We also tried to hook up with friends in Columbia, but apparently they were'nt home *casts hairy eyeball at Crink*

In any case, I will try to share a cople of choice photos from my new digital in the next couple of days; right now I need sleep! *flop!*

Kathy, Mom, Dad and I went to Augusta yesterday to find a new washer and dryer for Mom, and some Christmas bargains for Kathy. We were successful on one account, but on the latter point, nada.

We did, however, find a few neat things while we were there. Monsoon Wedding, which is an AWESOME movie. A couple of books, a new cutting board, a Hello Kitty travel toothbrush and cup (for Kathy, not me).

Oh yeeees, and a 14k white gold wedding band for me. I stared at it on my hand for a while before we purchased it. I've worn wedding rings for shows before, but this was vastly different. Just seeing it there is a reminder that things in my life are changing, and this time next year, I will be committed to one woman for the remainder of my life. A pretty humbling moment to be sure, but in its own way, incredibly cool and satisfying.

Hopefully, Kathy and I will be joining the other three couples in our generation of kids (my sister, brothers and their respective significant others) to go see The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers tonight. If it works out, it'll be the first time we kids have all done something together since we actually were kids. Hope it works out.

On the first day of Christmas, the Clintster gives to you...

A blog post in a pear tree. :)

Christmas has come and gone and I have a rundown of my booty:

Spiderman on DVD
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones on DVD
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on DVD
A River Runs Through It on DVD
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring deluxe edition (with all the bells and whistles) on DVD
A photo album
A holder for our remote controls
A foot-bath
PJ bottoms
A scarf
and...

A DIGITAL CAMERA!!!! I have finally gone digital, and I LOOOOOVE IT! I've already taken a good many pics with the camera, and I plan on posting some of them on the other blog... emmm, soon.

I think the kids (my nieces and nephews) had the most fun, since Santa and Mrs. Claus came all the way from the North Pole to visit the house. Maegan, the youngest, kinda freaked out, though, and refused to sit on Santa's lap. Well, maybe he'll come back and visit again another year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Kathy and I managed to survive the trip to Knoxville and made it on to Davisboro relatively intact. We are here now, having gone through two gifting ceremonies. Lots of cool stuff, which I will tell you about in the morning. Until then, sleep tight, and may we all enjoy peace on Earth, at least for one day.

My last post for a few days. Kathy and I have been busy most of the evening with last-minute cleaning and packing for our week long trip to see relatives.

I also spent a couple of hours scanning photos to CD-Rs to take to our relatives and share. It's a little easier than getting a bunch of photo albums. :)

Hopefully I will post again between now and Christmas Day. If I don't, be safe out there on the roads and have a Merry Happy Christmas Holiday-n-stuff. :)

Kathy and I have been cleaning up the place in preparation for our Christmas travels, and the pet sitter who will be looking in on the cats while we're gone. It's looking better, but still we need to do a good bit of work before Friday.

Of course, once we're ready to go, we face a quandry: how to get all the presents, our luggage and a dog to Tennessee (her brother and his family) and Georgia (my family) and haul our booty (and booties) back to Virginia. We're taking the Toyota, so there's not a whole heckofalotta room for everything. We'll probably have to put Heather in a smaller carrier for the trip. Why must I have SO many relatives? *bangs head on wall*

Anyways, not much else to report at the moment. Check back tomorrow.

Back from the mountains, and it's in the 50s here. The snow we had almost two weeks ago is nearly gone now, and I can finally take off the garbage (yay).

Kathy and I had lunch today at a place called Spanky's, which is kinda like Macado's, which is sorta kinda like Ruby Tuesday... anyway, if/when any of you guys make it up here, I/we'll take you.

In any case, on our way back to her office we stopped at a place called CocoaMill Chocolates. It's a little shop in town that specializes in making FRESH chocolates. Swear to god, this is some of the best chocolate I have ever put in my mouth. We got some Jack Daniels-filled truffles for Kathy's stepfather, almond bark and a wine-filled chocolate for me, and some white chocolate cranberry bark for her. Yet another reason to love Lexington. :)

Me and Kath and the Heather girl are in Blowing Rock, surrounded by Westies and waiting for the snow that just may keep us here past tomorrow. Oy.

Kathy had her first of two voice lessons this afternoon, and I suppose it went okay. All's I know is I spent four hours with her in the Toyota listening to her practicing all the way. There ARE worse things, y'know! ;)

May I make a cuisine suggestion? Next time you're out and about and find yourself in a Denny's, order the Ranch Chicken Melt. Tres magnifique! Or, if you're looking for something more "breakfasty", get the Breakfast Dagwood. We had both on our way to NC today, and were most satisfied.

*patiently waits for the lifetime supply of Denny's that will surely come from this gratuitous plug*

Anyhoo, I'm putting up my first list on the other blog. Link's on the right, listed as "CL&L". Enjoy!

Click here, and scroll down a bit to see what's in my bonnet.

The whole episode with Trent Lott has me angry. Very angry.

I have been a Southern boy all my life. The first time I ever traveled north of the Mason-Dixon line was in 2000, when I went to New York City to see my first Broadway show. I love this region of the country, and I hope that at the end of a long, long life, I will be buried here.

However, when I hear statements like the one Trent Lott made at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party last week, I want to hide under a rock somewhere. I've heard pundits making excuses for Sen. Lott, saying that he got "carried away" in paying tribute to a "great American" who has "changed his views" on race and civil rights.

I don't buy it. I've seen and heard evidence that shows me that Trent Lott had a pretty damn good idea of what he was saying. I'm not entirely convinced that Sen. Thurmond ever changed his views, either.

It's a funny thing about Southerners. There are many of us who seem to put on a paper bag when it comes to race relations. There are many who say "oh, the civil rights era was back in the 60s; what do we have to worry about now?" Plenty.

Sure, there are no more signs that say "whites only" or "colored only", but the ugly scars of racism remain etched on the southern heart. I have relatives who still sit around and tell incredibly racist jokes. I usually have to leave the room, because there are only so many times I can hear the word "nigger" used in an evening's conversation.

I encountered racism in college, too. I had a friend who would sing a borderline tasteless song called "Christ! Here Come the Negroes" whenever he got drunk. One of those occasions, he asked me point blank "Clint lemme ask you, would you ever fuck a nigger?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, unable to say anything. What kind of stupid-ass question is that, I wondered. Finally after weighing my options, I looked at him and said,

"If I loved her and she loved me, it wouldn't matter to me what color she was."

He kind of shrugged, and said something about cultural mixing, and soon the conversation drifted to "Caddyshack" quotes. Still, when I think of this guy, the pleasant memories I have of him are tainted a little by this incident.

Much as I abhor this kind of talk, I can almost excuse it coming from someone in their own house or in a private setting. However, when you're a public figure, particularly a political leader, and you say something like Trent Lott did in a public forum, you'd better be ready to ride the storm that follows. In my opinion, Trent Lott is either a totally clueless moron or a lying racist for making almost identical statements in 1980 and 2002 and for addressing the Conservative Citizens' Council (with high praise) several times during the 90s.

That's all I got for now. Sorry if this is too political, but I had to get it out.

What's shakin'? Well...

I'm spending the next few days cleaning up the house 1) on general principle, and 2) in expectation of the cat sitter we should have dropping by whilst we are on Christmas vacation. I finally got 95% of the walkway by our house cleared off just in time to hear that we have another winter storm watch set for tonight. Whoopee.

I've also been sleeping away from Kathy for the past couple of days. The reasons are that I have some nasal congestion, I snore, and Kathy has had to put in some long hours lately. It's only temporary, but still... I miss my honey bunny at night! WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! *sucks thumb*

In happier news, I have finally determined what to do with my Xanga blog site. Go here to find out. :)

We made it through the concert last night. Well, sort of. Kathy sang her part in the Monteverdi piece very well, and looked absolutely beautiful in her little blac number. Me? I almost passed out from standing for nearly two hours straight in a heavy tux under very hot lights. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to sit down before I keeled over. A lot of people asked me afterwards if I was okay. Okay I was, but a little embarrased.

Got back a few minutes ago from community choir rehearsal. Actually, we just got back from choir rehearsal, followed by a trip to Walmart for dresses and ice cream. Two and a half hours of standing in one place with NO respite. AND Kathy had to sing for an extra hour before that. Ahh, the things we do for art.

Speaking of, I had to go get a tux for the concert tomorrow, today. I, uhhh, kinda put it off until Kathy screamed in my ear to do it or have my toenails forcibly removed with a pair of tweezers. The first place I went to, I walked in and asked if they had tuxes. The clerk there said that they had a selection, but they had to be brought in from either Harrisonburg or Roanoke. I asked her if there was any chance they could get one in tomorrow, and she asked me "Did your wife just call here?"

I sighed and said "Probably". Turns out it was indeed Kathy. Goofus.

Luckily I found a place in town that carried a few tuxes. Only cost me $35 for the rental, and the best part is, it's actually black and NOT baby blue with Englebert Humperdink ruffles! In any case, I should look pretty sharp tomorrow night.

And so the Clint McGuire "750 Miles of Edutainment" tour comes to an end, at least for now. For those of you that didn't know, I took my GRE on Tuesday and went to Richmond VA to take a look at the VCU theatre program. Here's how it all went.

I left for Boone Monday, leaving Kathy at home with a stomach virus she caught from her (our) nephew Ben, who caught it from one of Kathy's mom's friends. Anyway, I got to Boone and settled myself in for a night of studying. When I couldn't take it anymore, I went to bed and tossed and turned in anticipation of the next day.

Tuesday, I went to ASU and checked in for the GRE. Now, I had last year's guide, and I studied based on that one, which had the analytical questions section in it. Well, when I got to the testing center, I was in for a nasty surprise, because I found out that the Analytical section is now an Analytical Writing section, and it was the first friggin' thing I had to get through. Well, I got through it and the rest of the test, and when I finished, I got my preliminary test scores.

Verbal: 650

Quantitative: 600

The Analytical Writing will be graded later by a board of scholars, so I'll have to wait for my official scores to come back to see how I did on them. I left Boone and heard that they were expecting 11 inches of snow there on Wednesday. I got home, told my still-sick honey"I love you" and went to bed.

Wednesday morning I went to Richmond. I took the back roads, thinking it'd be faster than the interstate. Turns out it was only marginally faster, and once I got on the other side of Buena Vista, I had to climb and then descend a pretty steep mountain. I decided that if the winter storm was as severe as they were predicting that I would take the Interstate back.

I got to VCU just in time to meet with the head of the grad theatre department. She talked to me for a while then handed me over to a graad student for a tour and a sit-in on two classes: movement and directing. I really felt at home at VCU; everyone seemed to get along quite well, there was a strong sense of cameraderie in the air, and they made me feel welcome. The professors even took time to talk to me, with the directing preofessor even asking me my opinion on a one-act that we saw rehearsed for the class.

I stayed over with my friend Chris Booth, and we watched the snow falling on Richmond. This morning I set out at 10, and took the Interstate back to Lexington. As I mentioned before, it took me about as long to get back to Lexington as it did to go to Richmond via US 60. This despite the crappy condition of I-64, a werck that slowed everything up badly, and my damn near sliding off the road on a couple of occasions.

The funny thing is, when I got home I realized that somehow I had grabbed Chris' wallet by mistake when I left this morning. I Express Mailed it back to him this afternoon, and I made some chicken soup for Kathy and I to nosh on for dinner in our little house surrounded by snow and ice.

I'm pleased by how things have gone the past few days; I'm just glad that I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. Between being at Carol's place in NC, and couch-surfing due to visitation (Chris'), and sickness (my Honey-Bunny-Bear), I haven't slept in our bed in more than a week. Nitey-nite all! :)

Here it is, the day after Thanksgiving, and here I am at Kathy's mom's house, listening to her brother Patrick cheering on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the other room.

We got here in Blowing Rock Tuesday night, and Patrick and his brood arrived Wednesday. The dinner was good; I carved the turkey AND said the blessing over the dinner before we dug in. Of course I called my family in Georgia; they're all doing well. After dinner I had a nice long turkey nap and watched The Wizard of Oz later that evening.

Thankfully I didn't get up (or get awakened) for early bird shopping this morning; everybody basically sacked out. Kathy and I did end up going into Boone to look around a little this afternoon. We still have to buy presents for my brothers and Kath's stepmom, but we should have it all wrapped up by next weekend.

One somber note; as we were headed back from Boone, Kathy got a call from her mom. A friend and co-worker of Kathy from her old IR job in Boone passed away yesterday. She was only 41 and left behind a 10-year old son.

For all of you in Blogger land, a belated Thanksgiving treat...

Alice's Restaurant
By Arlo Guthrie


This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the
restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
that's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice's
Restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.

We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be
a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW
microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
on toward the city dump.

Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump
closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.

We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
decided to throw our's down.

That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the
next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
under that garbage."

After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we
finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the
shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
police officer's station.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and
we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
and told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,
which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station
there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was
both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think I
can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car."

And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to
mention the aerial photography.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,
and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.

We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,
and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the
judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
we was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats not
what I came to tell you about.

Came to talk about the draft.

They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,
where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to
look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and
he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to me
at the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
and I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only got
one question. Have you ever been arrested?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacre,
with full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
the phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you ever
go to court?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
the back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
up and said.

"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for
forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
and I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it
down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
following words:

("KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?")

I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and
said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints
off to Washington."

And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into
the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say "Shrink, You can get
anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and
they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and
walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the
guitar.

With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
sing it when it does. Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it
for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.

So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
harmony and feeling.

We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.

All right now.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Da da da da da da da dum
At Alice's Restaurant

100 (or so) things about me (#1-10, FINALLY!)

1) So, where am I a native of? Well, I was born in Louisville, GA, but the place I spent the most time in my life (so far) was Aiken, SC. All told, I have lived 25 years of my life in either North or South Carolina.

2) I started my collegiate education at the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 1987. I graduated in 1999. A lot of the time I was attending I was part-time, and I sat out for a few years here and there. If I measured in purely class time, I was at USCA for 7 years. Not exactly something to crow about, but still... I'm a graduate.

3) I'm basically a shy person, so when I first meet someone I'm a bit reserved. Once I get to know people, however, I warm up pretty well.

4) Of course, I consider theatre to be my life. My steadfast involvement didn't really take off until my sophomore year in college; my first play, though was in 1975, at the Beech Mountain (NC) Baptist Church Christmas pageant. My one line was "Christmas comes but once a year, so let's eat and play and have good cheer."

5) My first "secular" role in a play came in my senior year at Evans (GA) High School. I played Professor Kokintz in The Mouse that Roared. Once I had gray paint sprayed into my hair, I knew that I would be forever typecast.

6) My first college role was as the title character in Mr. Scrooge's Christmas. Seems that through most of my college days I was playing either the Grumpy Old Man or the Bumbling Idiot.

7) I have shaken a few famous hands in my life. I met Jon Bon Jovi and Sebastian Bach (somewhere I have a photo with the former), said "what's up" to Speech from Arrested Development, shaken hands with (and swiped the chalk of) Kurt Vonnegut, and talked nuclear disarmament with former UN Secretary-General (and recovering Nazi) Kurt Waldheim. Not that I'm proud of that last thing; I met him in '83 when I was in the Model UN, a few years before the Nazi stuff came out.

8) I am a total mark for Mystery Science Theatre 3000. When I forst saw the show, I convinced my friend Christa Cox to tape it for me; she lived in North Augusta, and we didn't get Comedy Central in Aiken. I have about 40 episodes on tape. This may not push me into total geekdom, but I can see it from here.

9) I have been as far west as Woodward OK, as far south as Miami (actually a little south of), and as far north and east as NYC.

10) My favorite colors are black and blue. Anything else?

Next time: The Thanksgiving report. Turkey for me and-a turkey for you...

100 (or so) things about me (#11-20)

11) My first car was a 1976 Chevrolet Chevette. It was red with wood paneling, and it was probably the dorkiest vehicle I've ever driven.

12) This may be shocking to some people here, but I have a genius-level IQ. I was tested when I was 12, and I even had an opportunity to go to the University of North Carolina at that age, but I decided I wanted to be "normal".

13) Of all the pets I've ever had, I was most attached to my first cat, Kitty. She was a mostly black calico my sister found when we lived in Tazewell, VA in 1982. After Tonya went off and got married, Kitty became my cat, and she lived with me when I got the garage apartment in Aiken. Unfortunately she died in the fire that consumed that apartment in 1990. I still miss her.

14) I was a virgin until I was 32 years old. That's all I got to say about that.

15) The first open-mouth kiss I ever gave was in 1990, for a grade. I was rehearsing a scene for acting class with a girl named Tami Conner, and the scene called for the two characters to kiss. Before I go any further, let me say that SHE picked out the scene. Anyway, we decided to practice the kiss. I remember her having to scold me for laughing every time we started to kiss, but I couldn't help it; my lips were ticklish. Anyway, I think we ended up with a B for the scene.

16) The first Broadway-quality musical I ever saw was Les Miserables, in Atlanta in 1990. The first actual Broadway show I saw was the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar in 2000. Les Miz remains one of my favorite musicals ever.

17) My all-time favorite band ever is Pearl Jam. I've seen them in concert 3 times, and I plan on getting a fourth or fifth viewing in before it's all over with.

18) My favorite pets ever, aside from the aforementioned Kitty, are Brutus (half-Collie, half-German Shepherd), K.C. (a cocker spaniel), and my fearsome foursome Kathy and I have now (Heather the Westie; Katie, Possum and Lovecat the cats)

19) My favorite movies vary depending on my mood, but I have to say that The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring is one of my favorites ever.

20) I actually worked as an extra on the movies Wild Hearts Can't be Broken and the remake of That Darn Cat. You can see me in the latter, if you know where to look.

100 (or so) things about me (#21-30)

21) My first job was working at a Burger King in Daytona Beach, about a block from the beach itself. You know how hard it was to sling Whoppers while looking at girl after girl walking in wearing little more than a bikini and a smile, day in and day out? The things I do for you people!

22) To me the eyes are the window to the soul, and are usually the first thing I notice about someone.

23) I was once a caller on Larry King's radio show, when he had one. I got on and babbled something about my addiction to chocolate milk. Hey, it was 2am, and I was delirious, okay?

24) I used to be an avid poet, although I haven't written anything substantial in a couple of years.

25) When I was 18, I almost joined the Army, for nothing more than sheer boredom. Luckily, my dad talked me out of it.

26) I've been a wrestling fan since I was a kid. My first memory was seeing a guy named The Mighty Igor have a cinder block broken on his head with a sledgehammer and get up smiling.

27) I was once convinced by a friend of mine to dress as a Klingon for the premiere of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I have no pictures of this, so don't ask!

28) One of my cyber-nicknames, Aeolian, comes indirectly from the Greek god of the winds. Directly, it comes from an event called Aeolian Visitations, a poetryslam/performance showcase that used to be held at a bar called Newberry's. Newberry's is now a bicycle shop.

29) In junior and senior high school, I had a couple of other nicknames. One guy used to call me "Buzzard" (probably for my prominent nose), and in another place I got the nickname "Gomer" (why, I don't know). Both names did wonders for my self-esteem *rolls eyes*

30) I was raised as a Southern Baptist, and baptized when I was 10 years old. Currently, however, I am attending and singing in a Presbyterian church with my Unitarian girlfriend. Go figure.

100 (or so) things about me (#31-40)

31) One of my favorite jobs ever was working as an assistant manager at Chris' Camera Center South in Aiken SC.

32) My least favorite job was being a telemarketer in Augusta GA back in 1986. I went a whole half-hour before I decided that it just wasn't for me.

33) I really like going to the beach, but I have a problem with sunburning when I go. As I heard one comedian put it "it's like putting tinfoil in a microwave".

34) Surprise, surprise, when I was younger, I liked to read comic books. I was particularly taken with Green Lantern. That is one conic book character I would like to see turned into a movie.

35) I once had an unsavory fascination with Catherine Bach. It was her legs; they haunted me! (insert spooky music here)

36) I am a creature of bad habits, as Kathy can attest. I bite my fingernails, and burp, scratch and fart almost at will. However, I have almost got the "leaving the seat down" habit licked. *crosses fingers*

37) I think I have a healthy blend of optimism and pessimism in my life. As someone once said "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".

38) The one foreign country I would like to go to more than any other is Ireland. I feel drawn to it, and I want to go there and research my family's ancestry.

39) Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The colors of the leaves, the nip in the air, football, Halloween, Thanksgiving; autumn is just the greatest, IMHO.

40) When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut so badly I could taste it. Of course, my parents told me in order to be one I'd have to fly, and my enthusiasm waned.

100 (or so) things about me (#41-50)

I'll be speeding this up a bit as I'm going to NC for Thanksgiving tomorrow (Tuesday).

41) I would definitely say that my politics range left-of-center, liberal, progressive, what have you. Some people I've known in the past seem surprised by my political leanings, probably because of my generally quiet nature.

42) As big a Star Wars nut as I am, I didn't see the original movie until 1982. I actually saw The Empire Strikes Back before Star Wars (A New Hope). I still think Empire was the best of the series (at least until Episode III comes out).

43) I love women's soccer, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

44) I've had to wear a cast twice in my life. Once was in 1994, when I punched a steel wall in a fit of anger; the second time, in 1995, I fell on my wrist badly during rehearsal in my first season of outdoor theatre. Of course, it was the same arm and the same wrist both times.

45) In traveling between the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia/South Carolina over the course of three decades, I developed an interest in the "lost towns" as I call them. Those are the towns that I always signs for, but never got a chance to visit, that were off our usual route. Towns like Forest City and Spindale in North Carolina, or Enoree in South Carolina. I used to imagine what kind of towns they were, when I was a kid. Maybe one day I'll visit them and see how accurate my picture of them was.

46) Back in 1981-82, my family as a collective became whizzes at Circus Atari. Well, everybody except my mom, who has NO technological gifts. Stick figure clowns "popping" digital squares posing as balloons; what could be better?

47) The first computer I ever used was a Radio Shack TRS-80, which I think had 16k of memory. Today, I have a watch that has more memory.

48) My favorite foods are (cuisine) Italian, Thai, Mexican, or good old fashioned home cookin'. I also love Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, and any kind of pasta with pesto sauce.

49) My favorite non-alcoholic drink is sweet tea (the house wine of the south). My favorite beer is Guinness (on tap, natch). My favorite mixed drink is Jack and Coke. I can no longer look at Southern Comfort without getting ill (ask Kathy why).

50) If I had to take one team in each of the four "major" American sports to support they'd be the Braves, Steelers, 76ers, and Edmonton Oilers.

100 (or so) things about me (#51-60)

51) You can cuss in front of me, talk in graphic detail about your previous night's sexcapades, or even tell me how great you thing Dubya is, I don't mind; but if you want to get on my bad side REAL quick, the best way is to start talking about others in a racist tone.

52) I love, love, LOVE flannel shirts. Even before grunge was cool, I was a flannel freak.

53) I have seen my home on fire three times in my life. I lost everything I had in two of them.

54) I have a tattoo on my right ankle, one that I designed myself. I got it in January '97, as a christmas present from Crink and her then-fiancee Kyle. It has become more precious to me over the passing years, and I've thought about getting a second one; I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it yet.

55) Despite my tattoo (which incidentally is on one of the 5 most painful places to get a tat) I have no piercings on my body. I briefly entertained getting my left ear pierced, but decided against it. A friend of mine once tried to convince me to get my tongue pierced, but I could never do that. Never.

56) When I'm involved in a theatrical show, one of my traditions is that I bring a Bill the Cat doll with me. I picked up Bill several years ago at a flea market in Augusta GA, and he's been with me ever since.

57) I wish I could have spoken to each of my grandparents before they died, to say goodbye and that I loved them.

58) When I was in college, I was involved for several years with the Diabetes Association's annual benefit musical (they're now the Kidney Benefit). During that time, I was always cast as the villain who meets a dastardly end. Therefore, I quickly became known around Aiken as "the man who dies".

59) I am a BIG fan of roller coasters. One of my personal future meccas is King's Island park in Ohio, which is home to some 50+ roller coasters, including the tallest in the world.

60) Those that know me know that I love me some Saturday Night Live. I started watching it in the late 70s, at the tail end of the original Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time players, and have watched it almost continuously since. Sad, I know, but...

Hey you. Yeah, YOU! Check out my fiancee's blog!

100 (or so) things about me (#61-70)

61) I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but these days I got my news more from The Daily Show than from the networks, CNN, Fox News or any of the other cable news outlets.

62) I was sitting with my grandmother at her home in NC the night John Lennon was assassinated. When the Challenger exploded, I was home, in North Augusta, SC, recovering from being fired from a 12-hour a day job. I was getting Crink some lunch in Aiken, SC when I heard about Kurt Cobain killing himself, and I was just waking up at my residence in the mountains of NC on 9/11/01.

63) My dad had polio when he was 9 years old, and it crippled his left arm, but I never considered him to be handicapped. He could do more things with one good arm than many people could do with two.

64) I am the great-great-great-great-great great grandnephew of Daniel Boone. I could go into the lineage, but I'd have to sit and think about it, and I'm not in the mood to do that right now. Ask me about it when you see me sometime. :)

65) My parents' house in Georgia was used as a temporary quarters by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman during his March to the Sea in 1864.

66) Among my parents' effects is a letter they found during the renovation of the above mentioned house. It's a letter to then Senator Alexander Stephens urging Georgia not to secede from the Union. The letter is signed by Abraham Lincoln.

67) Most people that know me know that I am a huge wrestling fan. And I have to say that the man who is probably my all-time favorite wrestler is Mick Foley, aka Cactus Jack, aka Mankind, aka Dude Love.

68) I am a serious amateur/budding professional photographer. I've always enjoyed being behind the camera, but never truly got into it until I took a course on photography in college. Since then I have amassed several cameras (both for show and for use), and I have a darkroom set up in our home.

69) I am a master of trivia. Back in college, I and severeal of my friends would go out every week to play trivia at local restaurants and bars. I have to say that thanks to winning several of those contests, I was able to keep myself well fed through the last two years of my collegiate career.

70) One of my favorite foods in the world is pizza, but I didn't eat that much of it until I was 16. I think it had a little to do with the fact that until that time, I was living in a hollow in the mountains of North Carolina, not exactly the easiest place in the world to deliver a pizza.

100 (or so) things about me (#71-80)

71) Before I moved in with Kathy, I had somewhere in the vicinity of 300 CDs in my collection. Now, the two of us have somewhere in the vicinity of 650 CDs.

72) I'm not especially proud to admit this, but I went to a Motley Crue concert back in 1990. A friend gave me a spare ticket to see it. The only "good" thing about it was finding out afterwards that Tommy Lee was arrested for mooning the audience.

73) It's been 8 years since I weighed under 200 lbs. As I write this, I am at 230, the most I've ever weighed. However, Kathy and I are exercising to take some of that tonnage off.

74) I am a sucker for radio dramas.

75) My fiancee Kathy is the first actual bonafide girlfriend I have ever had. Granted, I have loved several women before, but only in an unrequited sense.

76) I cannot stand touching wet wood. Don't ask me why, it just weirds me out.

77) I have never seen a worse movie than Battlefield Earth. The sad part about this is that I went and saw this piece of trip on opening weekend. In the evening. Paid full price. Sat through ALL of it! And, yes, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing!

78) My friend Crystal and I have a game we play where we tell one another that the other was great in a really bad movie. e.g. "You were awesome in Xanadu!" "Yeah? Well, you totally ROCKED in Freddy Got Fingered!" And on it goes.

79) When I lived in Aiken, one of my favorite hangouts was Waffle House at 2 in the morning. I've had some pretty interesting conversations (and some pretty lousy coffee) at WH that time of the night.

80) One of the molding influences on my sense of humor was Creem magazine. It was a rock magazine that would print snarky captions under pics of different bands. Most of the time I would buy the magazine just for the captions, but I also learned a great deal about alternative rock in the '80s by reading Creem.

100 (or so) things about me (#81-90)*
*ed's note: I am counting backwards 10 at a time, so they make sense in the archives.

81) I love crosswords. They're probably my favorite word game.

82) I've never really believed in ghosts. However, once when I was sleeping over at my grandmother's house, I thought I saw a figure in boots walking by my bedroom door.

83) I will admit that I am a more openly emotional man than others. I tend to cry more often than other men, anyway.

84) Up until the age of 7, The Wizard of Oz scared the bejeebers out of me. This was back when the movie was shown once a year on CBS. I remember burying my head in my mom's lap when the Wicked Witch of the West came onscreen.

85) I love rainy days. Of course, it has to be a "good" rain. No thunderstorms, no drizzle, just a steady regreshing rain.

86) For some reason, the past few years, I have known and been associated with a plethora of Chrises (or variations thereof). There was Booth, Creely, Dyer, Boykin, my boss at the camera shop, and on and on and on...

87) I love going to the movies, but I hate going alone.

88) My favorite character in the Star Wars movies is Boba Fett. Somewhere in my plethora of "useless junk" is a Boba Fett toy that Crink gave me long, long ago.

89) I've never flown in an airplane. It's not that I'm afraid of flying, it's just the crashing, burning and mass destruction that gives me the willies.

90) I have a scar on the ring finger knuckle of my left hand. I got it when I was about 2 years old, and I cut myself with a knife (accidently of course).

Checking this out to make sure that the changes I made work.

And now, in the proud tradition of other bloggers who have gone before:

100 (or so) things about me (#91-101)

91) I am the eldest of 4 children. My mother had a stillbirth two years before I was born. My siblings range in age from 33 (almost 34) to 25.

92) My musical tastes range a good bit. I've always gravitated to rock, but I was perhaps the first kid in the mountains of NC to discover hip-hop. Many times when I hear a new artist with a new sound, I will assume they're British, regardless of where they actually come from. I don't know why.

93) I am a big fan of modern art. You can thank Dr. John Elliott, my Art History teacher at USCA for that.

94) I've never been fond of bullies, regardless of where they are. Maybe it's due to the fact that I was picked on a good bit when I was a kid.

95) When my family would travel between North Carolina and Georgia on trips back in the late 70s and early 80s, there was one point in the road where we would hear "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp on the radio. It was in the town of Clinton SC, where state highway 52 meets Interstate 26 West. Every time I reach that spot now, I think of that song.

96) It's hard to believe looking at me, but when I was a child, I was a very skinny kid. I didn't hit 150 until I graduated high school. How much do I weigh now? None of yer business, but I'm working on it!!!

97) In 1993, I had the idea of recording some of my poetry and giving tapes of it to my friends and family for Christmas. My friends John and Cliff helped me out, and we made a tape called "Tales Told by and Idiot". A couple of years later, we did these readings live a couple of times as an impromptu group called "Pentamination".

98) I can still remember my first nightmare. When I was about two I had a dream that a stuffed alligator that I had was eating me. I woke up screaming for my mama, naturally.

99) I have also had an out of body experience (OOBE). When I was a young child, I can remember suddenly waking up form my sleep to see that I was floating above myself. I remember my mother walking in and shaking me, and sudddenly going back into my own body. I was about 3 then.

100) When I was in the third grade, my classmates and I formed the world championship kickball team. We massacred any and all comers back in 1974, winning one game 114-7 (you could look it up).

It's a pretty heady time right now. I am applying for the MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Kathy and I had a long discussion this weekend at her mom's house, and we came to the conclusion that if we are going to survive as a happy couple, we both need to be active professionally.

If I get in at VCU, I will start next fall and will probably live in Richmond during the school week, and come home on weekends. I am also thinking of applying to a few other schools, just in case. I've wanted to go for my MFA, but I've always been a bit apprehensive. However, I'm going to do this. I need to. I want to. And I WILL DO! :)

I'm feeling better than I did last week, politically speaking. I won't go into it any more than that.

Not a bad weekend, to say the least. Kath and I went Friday night to the local art house theatre to see Monsoon Wedding. Pretty good flick, and it didn't involve Steven Seagal in any way. (note to Crink: I hear you're gonna be AWESOME in that film. Kudos!)

Anyway, Saturday we spent in Roanoke. We went to one of the malls there and I tried on a tux. I'm gonna need one soon, and not just for the wedding. We are in a choral concert next month and in March, and we have a couple of fancy-dress events coming up at W&L and I'll need a tuxedo for all of it. One thing I will say; trying on tuxes made me think about my need to lose weight and exercise. I felt a little embarrased when the sales lady almost has me try on a 2XL vest.

Later, we went to Barnes & Noble to look around. I picked up "Live from New York", which a totally fascinating read. I recommend it to all of you out there in TV land. While there, Kathy ran into a schoolmate of hers from ASU. Not exactly like meeting someone from your hometown in Germany or anything, but...

Yesterday was an intriguing day, to say the least. Good Morning America was here in Lexington, as part of their "50 cities in 50 states" dealie-yo. I had to go the long way to drive Kathy to work yesterday morning (her car's in the shop). The town held a veteran's Day parade at 7 IN THE MORNING for these people. My God, I feel like I've been dropped into a Capra film here. lol In any case, they were gone by mid-afternoon 9apparently they were dragged to a dedication for a bridge that's been in use for at least the past six months.

A bit of good news to end it, because some people need good news once in a while. :) I got a letter from the Employment Security Commission last week. Seems that they decided that although I was dismissed from my last job, it was not due to any wrongdoing on my part. I can hold my head up on that note, and on that note, I shall bid you Adieu until next time.

As I was driving around yesterday, listening to NPR ('cause I couldn't bear to listen to the gloating Pigboy), I heard "A Lincoln Portrait" by Aaron Copland, with recitation by James Earl Jones. Something about it just inspired me, and I can't put my finger on it. It made me think that just maybe we're gonna make it through the next two years.
In any case, here is the text from the piece. It's not quite the same without the music and James Earl Jones booming these words, but just imagine.

------------------

"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history."

That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said.

"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We (even we here)hold the power and bear the responsibility."

He was born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, and lived in Illinois. And this is what he said: This is what Abe Lincoln said:

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country."

When standing erect he was six feet four inches tall. And this is what he said: He said:

"It is the eternal struggle between two principles 'right and wrong' throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says: 'You toil and work and earn bread; and I'll eat it'....No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle."

Lincoln was a quiet man. Abe Lincoln was a quiet and a melancholy man. But when he spoke of democracy, this is what he said: He said:

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master; this expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."

Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of these United States, is everlasting in the memory of his countrymen, for on the battleground at Gettysburg, this is what he said: He said:

"...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion: that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; and that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

------------

You gotta stand for something, or you're gonna fall for anything!

Got back from Columbia a few minutes ago. Well, Kathy and I got back to Blowing Rock NC from Columbia a few minutes ago. We left the pupper at her mom's while we went to the wedding and came back to keep her company before we head back to VA tomorrow.

The wedding was great. Crystal was nervous, laughing and crying the whole time during the ceremony, but she and Steve got through it. I should have some piccies up soon of the bride, the groom and all.

Diona and James were there as well. D's belly has grown since last month, and she knows that her little bean will be a girl when it comes. Can't think of the name right off, though. In any case, we all had a good time.

Also have to mention that I finally met Darcy, a pretty cool chica. She's the second online friend that I've ever met. I kinda wish Cali and Aerik could've come too, but it was all good. :) Darcy, I tip my hat to you.

After the wedding, Kathy and I went out to Barnes & Noble to get a wedding planner. I gotta get crackin' on this stuff if we're gonna meet our May 17th date. Wish me luck.

More on the wedding later.

Once upon a time, I'd say about 9 years ago, I met this girl. She was cute and funny, and had this laugh that was... well, she was cute and funny! :) She and I began to talk and we shared a few things in common, so we became friends.

This girl was followed around for a while by this guy we knew, and he wouldn't leave her alone. A couple of times I stepped in and helped her out of a few situations with the guy.

After a while, the girl and I became closer friends. We would drive around together and talk about music, TV, movies, or just life in general. We'd sing in harmony to the radio. We would talk about musicals we had done together. They were good times.

Time passed. She got a boyfriend, broke up with him and got another boyfriend; I kept pining for women who liked me but didn't "like me" like me. We did plays together, tried keeping in touch over the summers, and hung out during school times.

The plays. Ah yes! She was the Mole to my Otter, the drugged out actress to my beer-soaked lawyer, the rat to my tortoise, and the British tart to my police officer. We went on the road together, we drank together, we partied together, we wrote poetry and dissed Sean "Puffy" Combs together.

Eventually, she met this guy Steve. At first I was a little upset because she spent a lot of time with Steve. But time and distance has a way of wearing on someone, especially when you see how much that someone loves someone else. I realized that my jealousy was unfounded. She was still my friend, and that was what was important.

And then I found someone of my own, finally. I realized what it was to love someone and have them completely love you back. And I understood. And it was good.

In all the time that we've known one another, my friend and I have been angry with one another only a handful of times. Granted, those times have been some pretty intense angry spells, but it's just how we are. We still talk, but not quite as often as we used to. We still make jokes about one another, to one another. We still talk about stuff that most people (significant others included) would roll their eyes at. We still have a bond between us.

Saturday, this friend of mine is getting married, something I never thought I'd see happen. Even so, I smile from ear to ear whenever I think of it, and I cannot wait to see her walking down the aisle. I know she probably won't see this until long after the wedding, and long after I see her in person to tell her this but, just for the record:

"Congratulations, Crystal! You two are going to be very happy together."

Your friend,

Clint

Well, here's an update for everyone out there, or anyone out there as the case may be.

I'm still here, and looking for a job. I got calls from two different places today, one of them being the W&L campus. That'd be nice if Kathy and I worked at the same place. Cross your fingers, everybody.

I'm a little nervous about the sniper business. More than a little, actually. Kathy was teasing me about it until this past weekend, when the sniper hit Richmond. That's a two hour drive from here. I realize that the chances of this maniac coming to Lexington are remote, but then again, until last weekend, I was reasonably sure he wouldn't venture outside of the DC area. Now I'm checking out white vans every time I see one, regardless of how innocuous it may seem. I'm especially wary in grocery store or gas station parking lots. God, I hope this is all over soon.

Next entry: a tribute to a friend.

And once again!

This is only a test, doggone it!

OK, I am putting a new comments section in my blog. Hope it works...

Again, I test the system, and I think it may test me as well!

And we're back! Blogging is more fun than should be allowed by law. :)

You Know You're Right...

I'm a shy, sensitive punk rocker, the most artistic of them all. I'm Kurt Cobain! Click here to find out which Nirvana grunge rocker you are!

Clint McGuire moves to new home. World rejoices.

Which Poet are You?
You are Maya Angelou
You have a strong sense of self and have faith in your abilities. You are an optimist and believe that things can get better if people work together. You also have faith in humanity.

Take the Which Poet are You? Quiz - brought to you out of boredom and pretention!

Okay, so here's my latest news.

I was fired from my job last Friday. Not sure why; they simply said they didn't think it'd "work out". In a way it's actually okay with me. Kathy and I were spending precious little time together, and the drive was playing hell with man (me) and machine (the Chevy POS).

Kath and I went down to Aiken on the weekend for my friend Diona's wedding. Of course, my friend Crystal was there, along with many of my friends from UTP. It was a nice break from my now-former work schedule, since I hadn't had a weekend off in almost 2 months.

Oh yes, and my honey bunny has a terrible ear infection. We had to go to the hospital about it at 4am last week. We tried to use ear candles on it this evening, but her ears just couldn't take the heat. LOL Hopefully it'll clear up soon.

More later.

A couple of new images on the right. Hope you like them.

It's been a few days, so let me bring you up to speed...

We're sending the couch back. Too many flaws in it. They're picking it up tomorrow. Now, Kathy won't take a couch unless it's actually one she sees on a showroom floor.

Last night, Kathy tried to pay her credit card online. Unfortunately, she had to register online in order to do that, and every time she tried to do so, she got a message saying that the name she chose was already taken; even seemingly untaken names like "katherinetruett". Finally, out of frustration, she typed "fuckyoubastard" in the username window and hit enter.

So now, she's known as "fuckyoubastard" to the credit card industry. I won't even go into her password. :)

In happier news, I finally got the "Pearl Jam: Touring Band 2000" DVD. No footage from Atlanta (the concert I attended), but plenty of good stuff, including videos for "Do the Evolution" and "Oceans". A definite must-see if you're a PJ fan. Probably not worth your while if you're into Lawrence Welk, though.

I'm sitting here at the Blackfriars listeining to Karla Bonoff play on our stage. Tomorrow, it's back to normal as we present the opening night of Richard III. Hey, it's a living. Celebrity Alert! Aside from Karla, we were graced by the presence of Robin and Linda Williams, who you may have heard on A Prairie Home Companion, and who will be playing here themselves in November

Kathy's friend Loretta is visiting us from NC. She's on her way to New Jersey to visit a sick parent. Our fist official houseguest since we moved here. Isn't that delightful? Hmmm?

Sorry, had to throw a little Marvin the Martian in there.

Oh, and we got our new couch in, finally! Haven't had a chance to test it and see how it sleeps, yet, but time will tell. We have a blanket on it until we can get a slipcover shipped in for it. Gotta keep the cat hair off it, y'know. LOL

Anyway, that's all from this end. Hope the day's going well for whoever you are over there.;)

Here it is, one year, 365 days, 52 weeks... and I feel many of the feelings that I had when I lived through this last year.

As I mentioned, I started feeling the weight of the anniversary yesterday as I drove to work. It dissipated thanks to the ticket I got for speeding (see below), but it came back with a vengeance as I watched NBC last night.

There were interviews with survivors and relatives of victims of the attacks, and one of the interviews was with a widow who had been on the phone with her husband as the north tower collapsed. As she told of how they spent the last moments saying "I love you" over and over, I kept squeezing Kathy's hand and thinking of what would have happened if I had been in that building, assured of dying, and talking with my beloved but unable to touch her in my last moments. I cried for a good while afterwards.

This morning, I came to work and rolled into Staunton about 8:35am. While I was on the interstate, I tried listening to John Boy and Billy, as I did when I woke up one year earlier, but I couldn't take it. Instead I switched over to the more sober goings-on on NPR. When I parked in the municipal garage, I went out walking.

It was quiet in town, and I walked a couple of blocks towards the Presbyterian church. At 8:46 the church bells began to ring, a tolling that I always associated with funerals. They went on for more than a minute, then went silent. After a few more seconds of near silence, the stillness was broken by a bugler playing "taps". I hurriedly walked in the direction of the bugle and found it, on the campus of Mary Baldwin College. What looked like the entire campus was gathered around the half-staff flagpole, obvously observing the events of a year ago.

I know there were some people who were saying that they would not be pausing, mourning and observing this day, remarking that the best thing to do is to "live life normally". However, I think the best thing we could do today as Americans was just exactly what we did. Some of us remebering the dead, some of us doing the work of the living. This is one thing I love about this nation; the fact that we could mark this anniversary however we chose, or choose not to.

God bless America,

Clint

Here it is the eve of the first anniversary of September 11th, and I can feel the weight of it upon my shoulders. I feel as if I need to write something thoughtful and reflective on it, but I may wait until later to do it.

On my way to work this morning, I got stopped for speeding (48 in a 25). The officer said that I was speeding through a school zone, but I don't remember any lights flashing as I was going through. Grrrrr! I'm contesting this, so help me!

Okay, without further ado, the Friday Five...

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Why?


My biggest pet peeve is people who don't use turn signals. Plain and simple.

2. What irritating habits do you have?


Ask my fiancee! LOL

3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be?


I've tried, but so far, it hasn't been succesful.

4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Why?


The sight of excrement. I don't know why, but it just triggers a gag reflex in me, and I get really queasy.

5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do?


I don't know.

And again...

Okay, I'm gonna give this another try. Let's see if I can post without worry...

Posting on the range...

Take the Purrsonality Quiz!

I never would have figured this. More in a bit.

*sigh* It never ends...

This morning, as I was headed to work, a guy passed me and honked his horn. I gave a sideways glance just in time to see him stick his hand out his pickup truck window and shoot me a middle finger.

I wondered if it was for driving too slow, or if I had changed lanes badly. Then it dawned on me.

He was flipping me off for my bumper sticker.

A few months ago, I had picked up a bumper sticker at ASU that read "Peace is patriotic". I had bought it because I thought it summed up my feelings on war and patriotism in general. In recent weeks I had thought about taking it off or even supplanting it with an American flag or something. Those urges came even stronger after being flipped off this morning.

However, after thinking about it, I am leaving the bumper sticker as it is. I am an American citizen. I love my country, and I support those troops who are stationed around the world, keeping the peace and defending my liberties as well as those of people not only of this country, but around the world.

Even so, I am also a man of peace. I'm not going to go into a rant about George W.'s War on Terrorism policies, or anything like that. I think that the war has managed to accomplish something, in the removal of the Taliban, which was perhaps the most oppressive government in the past 20-30 years.

As I saidm though, I am a man of peace, and I will not be called a "fifth columnist" or have my patriotism questioned simply because I feel that peace is preferable to war. Yes, war may be unavoidable sometimes, but it won't keep me from wolding a candle for brotherhood, equality and a better future.

That's all I have to say about that.

Quick update:

We're having moving trauma right now. Finding a mover is a bear (and I ain't talking about a bunny bear).

The Fourth (for us at least) sucked, even with the availability of a hot tub. Kathy says we're never going out for the Fourth again. I think it'll change.

Kathy got this in her prescription the other day. Just puzzle over that for a while.

We went to see The Scorpion King last night at the $1.50 theater. It was okay, but there were some people there (probably touristas) who would laugh at entirely inappropriate places. I almost went over to shake some sense into them, and by "shake", I mean "savagely beat".

Today I went to Hickory to buy a couple of birthday gifts for Kathy and a Kacheek plushie for myself. A little while ago, she bought me an early birthday present, a new recliner. :)

And now, the Friday Five, on Sunday night *shrug*.

1. Where are you right now? In front of my computer in a 3 bed, 2 bath trailer in Boone, NC.

2. What have you lost recently? I may have lost some CDs recently, but I think my little brother may have absconded with them.

3. What was the first CD you ever purchased? Does that embarrass you now? My first CD purchased was Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". I'm not embarrassed at all by that. Now my first album-or-CD length recording I ever bought was a cassette of The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack. I think it's kinda geeky, but I'm not embarrassed, per se.

4. What is your favorite kind of writing pen? My favorite is probably just a basic ball-point pen.

5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

The news continues on CNN (the Clintster News Network):

We now have a house to call our own (or at least a rental). Late last week Kathy went to Lexington to look at some rental properties. She found a 3 BR 2 bath farmhouse about 5 miles out of town, and talked to the owner about it.

This morning he called us to say that he would rent it to us for the next year (at least). We'll be moving sometime between the 20th and the 31st, depending on when we can arrange to get a moving van.

Yippee!!!! We're a-movin' soon!!!!!

The offer came in Tuesday, and Kathy took it. Which means...

WE'RE MOVING TO VIRGINIA!!! WOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!!

*does backflips through the internet*

Right now Kathy is in Virginia scouting potential places to move into. I've been looking online for a job I can take on. The next few weeks will be a bit hectic for us, but I think it'll all be worth it in the end.

Well, here we are somewhere in limbo. Kathy got a monetary offer from W&L almost 2 weeks ago, and she asked for a better salary. They've been considering it ever since. It's playing hell with our nerves, and if we don't hear something soon, I think I just might have to go there and start kickin' some administrative buttocks!

The McGuire family reunion was this weekend and judging from the reaction, I'd have to say that Kathy was a big hit with the McGuires there. I asked my youngest niece Maegan if she would be our flower girl and she nodded "yes". Of course, she's only 4 (almost), so she'll probably have to be reminded of this responsibility more than once in the next few months.

Oh, and I hate, hate, hate Enya. More on this soon!

WE INTERRUPT CLINT'S REGULAR POST TO BRING YOU THIS STORY OF FAST FOOD HELL!

Okay, here's how it started. I was working a double yesterday at my two jobs. I had finished my shift at Storie Street at 4 and I had to be at Mike's Seafood at 4:45. Since it's a 10 mile drive between the two places, I had to get changed into different clothes and I had to go through a drive-thru to get something to eat before work. I decided I'd stop along the main drag in Boone and pick something up.

No dice. Unfortunately, there was some construction going on along the main road in Boone, which meant going through a drive-thru for a "quick" bite just wouldn't cut it. I decided with some hesitation to go to Hardee's, which is right around the corner from my house (and across the street from Mike's).

I say "with some hesitation" because a couple of months ago, I had a bad experience with them involving some biscuits (but that's another time). Needless to say, I didn't want to do it but I figured I'd give them one more shot.

I went in and ordered a Bacon Bacon (no, that's not a typo) Cheeseburger combo. The guy at the counter, after waiting a couple of minutes to actually take my order. kept asking me if it was to go. After I frantically said "YES" for the 126th time, he said he was just being sure, saying (and I quote) "It's better to ask a bunch of times than to have to say 'I'm sorry'". Can you feel the foreshadowing in the air?

Anyway, I got my combo and came home so I could eat, get changed, and get on to work. I took a bite and noticed something was wrong with my burger. I looked at my sandwich and visually confirmed what my taste buds had warned me about:

THE FRIGGIN' BURGER WAS MISSING FROM MY BURGER!!!!!!!

In more than a little bit of a rage, I raced back to Hardee's and went back to the counter. It took them 3 minutes to find a manager, who offered me a replacement burger. I didn't want one because a) I had to be at work in 3 minutes, and b) I had mine made without mayonnaise (I hate mayo), and it would have taken too long for them to get their shit together to make it my way. I got my money back and went to work.

So basically, what I'm sayin' is I'm never, NEVER, NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER going back to Hardee's again, at least that incompetent f'n location!

Got a war story from fast-food hell? Put in my comments. :)

A rather eventful past week. Last Thursday, two days after she got back from interviewing with them, Washington and Lee told Kathy that they were interested in hiring her for their ADIR* position. She said she'd think about it, but only if I approved of the area.

So we took a trip up to Lexington, VA on Saturday. I thought it was a nice area, which combines the horse country of Aiken, SC with the down-home atmosphere of Boone, NC (my current digs). It's a place I could get settled into. On the way back Sunday, after discussing it, Kathy announced to me that she was going to accept the position, provided that the contract meets her salary requirements.

Folks, looks like we're a-movin'! *does happy dance*

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate my good friend Diona on her impending nuptuals. Man, with so many of my friends (and ME) getting married, it almost makes me feel sorry for those who aren't at that stage yet. Almost! :)

Next post: I steal an idea from Crink!

*Assistant Director of Institutional Research

Home again, home again, jiggity jig! We finally made it back to Boone about 10 last night, and now Kathy's gone to Lexington to interview with Washington and Lee. I'm just sitting here looking at piccies and my new Cybunny.

I should have a page of vacation pics soon. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and blablablah.

Day 8, and I (we) are now at my parents' house in Davisboro, GA. We'll be headed back to Boone later this afternoon, and after a night's rest, Kathy heads to Lexington VA for a job interview.

The last couple of days were fun. We went to an aquarium, where we petted a stingray (friendly, but slimy). We spent some time at the beach looking at the sunset and looking for shells. Yesterday we went to Clearwater Beach and spent some time wading around. The waters there are the clearest (thus the name) that I have ever seen in an ocean. It was almost like stepping into a Carribbean travel brochure.

The trip back here yesterday evening was L-O-N-G! Kathy has sworn that next time we go down there, we are going by way of Savannah, but I plan to go her one better. Next time, we are FLYING! In any case, much thanks to Mike Adams, my buddy at Busch Gardens, for the passes to the park, and to Kathy's parents for the use of their condo.

Next report will be coming from Boone, lest something interesting happens in the next few hours.

Day 5 of vacation finds me here, back again at the internet cafe/ice cream shop checking my blog comments and e-mail. Kathy, her mom and I went to see her 94-year old grandmother in the nursing home the other day. Flora didn't speak much, and she hardly recognized Kathy, but when Kathy told her we were getting married, Flora's face just beamed with happiness. :)

Later that evening Kathy and I went to the beach to watch the sunset and collect shells. I took some great shots of Kathy and the sun. My first West Coast sunset! *sniffle*

Yesterday was a fun one as we took off for Busch Gardens. The park wasn't very crowded (we attributed that to midweek and most kids being in school) so the waiting lines for the rides weren't very long. The best one of them all was the Montu, what I like to call a "dangling" roller coaster. We rode it twice and loved it both times. We also got drenched on the Congo River Rapids.

We ended the day shopping; I bought Kathy a Hello Kitty mermaid, and she bought me a...

*pause for dramatic effect*

...a NeoPet plushie!!!! It's a Cybunny, and he/she is gonna go great with the rest of the bunnies we have at home. :) We came home and were passed out by 10pm.

In any case, we're off to have some more fun. Next report from the road should be sometime Saturday. Have fun, y'all!

Well, here I am in an internet cafe attached to a grocery store in Tampa (actually on the shore of Indian Point Beach) FL, and Kathy and I are having the time of our lives on vacation! :)

We got here Sunday afternoon after spending a total of 14 1/2 hours on the road (not counting a six-hour rest stop at my parents' in Davisboro GA) and settled into our temporal digs at Kathy's parents' condo in Largo. We saw my old buddy Mike Adams, who is working at Busch Gardens and gave us a pair of free passes to the park to use this week.

Monday we went down to the beach and took a look around. I have never seen water as greenish-blue and beautiful as the Gulf of Mexico. I definitely prefer it to the Atlantic Ocean, I can say without fear of contradiction. We've already hit two seafood restaurants and gone through a few frozen drinks. More news and piccies when I can get to a computer. Bye now!

One more day, one day more. Today was a busy (and very productive) day at work. We should have a good bit of spendin' money when we get to Florida.

I'm also pleased that my "daily reads" list finally appeared on the left hand side. If you want your blog linked to mine (and vice-versa), just e-mail me: clintster@apptechnc.net.

More later on this CBS (Clinster Bloggin' System) station!

Less than 48 hours until we head to Florida for vacation, and we have done NOTHING to pack yet. It will be done though. :)

Kathy's interview went great. She's one of two finalists for the UT job. She has an interview next week for the job at Washington and Lee. Me? I'll just be happy to go anywherer else but here.

I'm changing my mind regarding the job at Lees-McRae this summer. I'm of the opinion that I want to go traveling this summer, and that's especially strong considering that I have someone to travel with. Plus, I can make more than I would at LMST if I work a couple of nights a week at either Storie Street or Mike's. I haven't sent my signed contract back to them yet. I may send a letter of withdrawl instead. Besides, if Kathy ends up getting these jobs, we may have to spend July moving to a new town.

Another post before we leave for vacation, I swear.

It's been a week. Can't say as it was a particularly busy or noteworthy one, but it was a week that kept me hopping, nonetheless. Where to begin?

Well, Kathy and I got through App Chorale this past week. We had our concert presentation of Handel's Messiah parts II and III on Tuesday, and it went... okay. Kathy couldn't get enough of the sight of me in a tux, which was just dandy by me. :) We went out to Macado's afterwards and had a couple of sandwiches while we participated in our favorite "going-out-to-eat" pastime, doing the crossword. Unfortunately the evening was almost ruined when our waitress spilled a cup full of au jus into my lap. Fortunately, the cup was sealed, so the family jewels were saved a scaldin'.

In other news, Kathy has three potential jobs lined up. As I type this she's in Knoxville getting set to interview with the University of Tennessee. In the past week, she's also gotten letters of interest from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, and the Medical College of Georgia, located in my old stompin' grounds of Augusta. We'll just have to see how it goes. If I had my druthers, I'd rather be in Knoxville, but it's the coupleship that counts, innit?

Work continues apace. Nothing much to report, other than I got the days off to go on vacation, finally. Ah, to be on the beach in Florida. I'll be there soon enough, though. With salt in my hair and sand in my toes and zinc on my nose, ho-ho!

That's about it for the moment. 5 days to vacation, folks! :D

Well, the trip to Richmond was pretty good, although it took longer than I expected. I met up with my old buddy Chris Booth while I was up there. Found up that he and his girlfriend Stacie had broken up a couple of months ago, as have Matt and Miranda. Otherwise, Booth is doing fine up in Virginia; he's thinking of moving to NYC in the fall to further his acting career.

My audition went well, I think. The casting director toold me just to relax and take it easy. They were videotaping it and told me to start over if I needed to, which I did. We had a substantial talk afterwards and I got a lot of information about the company and touring. I don't know if I'll take the gig if/when they make me an offer, but I think this was a good experience in general.

Afterwards, Booth and I went to see Spiderman at the local multiplex. Good movie, if I say so myself. Tobey Maguire did a good job of capturing the young, just-starting-out-as-a-superhero Peter Parker. The effects were pretty nice too.

That's all for now. No Friday Five, obviously, but maybe this coming week. :)

An intersting day. First Kathy and I went to counseling, where we basically had a better time through it than we've had since we started going. Of course, we both cried some while we were in there, but I think it's been beneficial for the two of us to be able to talk to someone about our relationship without the conversee taking one side or another.

Later, Kathy took off for Knoxville for her job interview tomorrow. Unfortunately her brakes went out as she got on the other side of Elizabethton and she had to be towed back to Boone. Due to the crappy weather, and due to the fact that she's already put in a long day of working, schooling and waiting for a tow truck, Kathy is going to have to wait until next week to interview.

I just hope this isn't a portent for my own travels tomorrow. Friday Five soon...

I meant to post about this earlier, but I saw a performance of Hamlet and the movie Changing Lanes on successive days last week. The former had nice stage combat, the latter had Samuel L. Jackson and Benn Affleck. Otherwise, not much to report on either.

Last weekend was boring, really. Kathy and I stayed in and she rested up from her busy semester. This should be an interesting weekend though. She goes to Knoxville on Friday, and I head to Richmond Saturday to audition for Theatre IV. I just hope I don't embarrass myself too much.

More later (I hope).

Live from my office, it's Friday...

1. What are your hobbies? Photography, collecting state quarters, that's about it at the moment.

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? See above answer. I am also in the process of collecting the set of Pearl Jam recordings from the 2000 tour (an ideal birthday/Christmas/Arbor Day/hey-Clint-I-think-you're-a-swell-guy present! :D

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? Not really. I suppose I'd be interested in stamp collecting, if I had a little more time. Pretty dull, eh?

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? Well, I did make some money taking pics for a friend's wedding once, but that's about it.

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? None, really. Just don't have the time in RL.

Next update: my night at the theatre and my next night at the movies. See ya!

Finally saw The Osbournes last night. Verrrrry interesting.

Kathy got in touch with Western Carolina today, and they told her that they had two candidates for interviewing in mind and that she wasn't one of them. One down, one to go. This is also affecting my possible acceptance of a part in Lees Mcrae summer theatre.

Some words on Kathy and I, at the request of someone close to me.

Things are going well for the two of us, or at least well enough. It appears that Lila's (her step mom) offer to front the cost of our wedding has put some of the financial onus off of our backs. I'm glad, mostly because it's one less thing for Kathy to have to worry about. She has enough on her overloaded dinner plate, what with her course overload this semester and worries over her career future and the fact that we have two humans, three cats and a dog crammed into a single-wide trailer, etc.

In any case, we've had some good conversations in the past few days, and I've especially enjoyed her company. I know that we'll have more arguements soon, but I can only hope that we can resolve our differences as mature adults. One point that Kathy made the other day was the realization that we were still behaving like two single (as in "living alone") people and not as a couple. And she is right.

I've been so used to living as a lone adult with no one else to care for that I'm still in the mindset of "what's good for me?". I have to start thinking of what's good for the both of us. We both do. I just hope that we can both find the strength to do this.

I don't think I've ever really put down in words just what attracted me to Kathy in the first place, or what keeps me close to her. I was originally attracted to her because here was this woman who seemed to share an interest with me (theatre, or at least performing), who was my age, unmarried, who had a good sense of humor, and was not your average Jane Doe.

Why do I stick around? Well, it's all of those reasons, plus I've found that she is someone who genuinely cares for me, cares about my well-being, my future, and my present. She may tease me sometimes, but she does it with love and a sense of humor. She has great compassion for animals, and she and I share many of the same core beliefs. I can't imagine being without her in my life, and I wonder what took me so long to bring her into it. She is my jewel, and my trreasure, and I will love her even until the end of the world.

Thank you. Barf bags will be provided at the exit, and thank you for visiting "Clintster's Tunnel of Mushy Love". :D

A couple of more notes regarding Layne Staley's death...

I saw AIC back in 1993 on the Lollapalooza tour of that year. I saw it in Charlotte with my friend Ray. AIC was playing second from last on the bill, to be followed by Primus. I had spent part of the day passed out from heat exhaustion, and was wandering around the grounds during Dinosaur Jr.'s set. As I was walking around, I saw a kinda smallish, blond guy with shades walking around with a Rottweiler. I knew it was Layne Staley, and I froze for a second.

I thought about going up to him and saying "hello"; I wanted to tell him how much I thought their album "Dirt" was a great, dark meditation on drug addiction and the perils therein. Instead, I just looked at him as he passed, trying hard not to look like some kind of obsessive freak. He and his dog and the bodyguard trailing them walked on to the port-a-potties.

I think now that maybe I should have gone up to him, but then I think he probably would have thought I was some kind of heroin-induced hallucination. I have that effect on people.

Granted this isn't a great brush "with greatness." My friend Ombra could tell you tales of seeing Nirvana just before they became famous, or how she told Michael Stipe to jump up her butt (in not so many words), but this is all I have, at least for now.

I live tomorrow, you I'll not follow

as you wallow in a sea of sorrow

-Sea of Sorrow, Alice in Chains

Layne Staley 1967-2002

Oklahoma closed last night. I was a little saddened by it, but then again I get sad when a TV show gets cancelled. Whaddaya gonna do? Kathy and her mom came to see it and they both enjoyed it. After the show, Kathy informed me that her step mother and her father have offered to pay for our wedding as long as we keep it a simple affair. :) She also brought me a yellow rose, which was the first time that someone has brought me flowers for a show. Unfortunately, someone stole it before I could move it out of the dressing room with the rest of my stuff.

Kathy's recital was this evening. Well, it wasn't her recital per se, but it might as well have been. It was an ensemble recital for her Collegium Musicum course, and she sang a couple of arias from Purcell's The Faerie Queen. She wore a lavender dress and miniature silk roses in her hair. She looked the part if I may say so myself.

Back to something approaching normalcy tomorrow, as I get back with App Chorale to prepare for Act II and III of Handel's Messiah.