Ever since starting grad school in North Carolina, I have always driven my car home to Arkansas for Christmas. It's about a 14 hour trip, which I usually make in one day. This time, I flew home. I thought that would make for a shorter overall travel time. I thought wrong.

I got up at about 5:15am, leaving the house by 5:35 to catch a 7am flight. I flew to Little Rock by way of Baltimore, arriving right on time at 12:15pm. I had an old family friend on the way to pick me up and drive me back to Russellville, about 75 miles away, all interstate.

Problem was, there had been a winter storm in Arkansas the night before, and the roads were really bad, with thick ice in places. It took my ride about 5 hours to get to Little Rock (instead of the typical 1 hour). He picked me up at about 4pm, and we didn't get home until 11. Having been up since 4:15 Central Time, I was completely wiped out, and I am currently very glad to be home!

Woohoo! My paper got accepted to the Internet Network Management Workshop. I'm going to Orlando (on my advisor's nickel)!! :-D

The workshop is Sunday, October 19th.

Last Wednesday afternoon, I flew to Little Rock to meet up with my old friend Mike (affectionately spelled "Miek"). Miek's stuff was mostly packed, but we hung out a few blocks away at Clay and Patria's house. Miek, something of a chef (and beer brewer), had marinated some pork in a scrumptious-smelling sweet cinnamon sauce. The plan was to take the meat to our favorite local pizza place, Damgoode Pies. They will actually cook custom meats into a pizza pie for you. But, they weren't feeling it that night--I guess they were busy--and they basically asked us to take our business elsewhere. So, we went to the supermarket, bought some ingredients, and made our own pizza pie. Heh, we made it in a casserole dish. It was fantastic! That meat was crazy good, too.

Thursday, after grabbing lunch and running a few errands with Miek, Miek, Clay, me, and an extra passenger hit the road for northwest Arkansas. We stopped by Russellville (my home town) on the way, grabbing a tasty burger. My mom met us there, so I got to say hi. I also grabbed a couple of long-sleeved shirts from her, which she happened to have in her trunk, ready for Goodwill. I had dumbly neglected to pack anything remotely warm, and we were going to Colorado. That's not the first packing mistake I've made. Ask me about packing shoes sometime... :-)

We got to NW Arkansas around 8, I think. We picked up Otto and Dan (Miek's bro), bringing the head count to 5. We stopped at Wal-mart on the way out of town to grab a tarp and some cables. That way, we could strap our luggage to the roof of Miek's parents' Expedition and use the back of the S.U.V. as a sleeping area. The tarp, unfortunately, was very annoying, flapping loudly in the wind. For the first hour or two, the navigator frequently opened the sunroof to check on everything.
( At this rate, this is going to be a long post... :-) (pics inside) )

Last weekend, I flew to San Antonio for Russ and Sarita's wedding. Russ goes to grad school with me, and he was the CSSA president before me, which meant I got to bug him whenever I had a CSSA question.

I went to sleep Friday night with my window open, listening to the rush and patter of the heavy rain outside. It was so nice. It's been ages since I've seen a good rain storm--since the spring at least--and NC is in the middle of an "exceptional" drought (the most severe type). It wasn't raining when I woke up at 5:45, though. I quickly got ready and drove to the airport, making my 8:38 am flight with time to spare, and having time to talk to Jim K. a bit as well. He goes to Grace Church and works at the information desk at the airport.

I read a good chunk of "Star Wars: Survivor's Quest" by Timothy Zahn on the plane. I also napped a bit. I had to hurry in Houston to make my connecting flight, since I only had about 15 minutes before boarding. An hour later I arrived in San Antonio. I had arranged a shuttle from the airport, but I didn't get the details of how/where I would meet up with the driver, so I sat around for a while, trying to call them and getting no answer. Eventually I got a hold of them and they came, though--when I was literally 3 pages from finishing the book. :-/ Oh, and I rode in style: a shiny new Lincoln Towncar L. The "L" means long, and I actually had room to stretch out in the back seat. It was ni-i-ice. :-)

I met up with my friends at the Casa Rio restaurant on the river around 1:30 pm. I scarfed down some enchiladas, then we all went to our various hotels to get ready. We walked by the Alamo on the way. We were a little confused about how and where to meet up with the wedding shuttle, and we only made it by virtue of our hotel's concierge calling ahead and having them wait on us. This, of course, made us the object of some good-natured teasing by our friends on the bus, once we got there. :-)

The wedding was beautiful. It was at a place called the Patios: a little pocket of beauty tucked away among highways and construction. The wedding was outside, on a green lawn, among those rather short, scrubby, south-Texas trees, and surrounded by old, Spanish, hacienda-style buildings. The weather was nice--about 75 degrees, I'd guess. The ceremony was short, and the reception was on site, so it wasn't long before I took advantage of some cold Shiner Bock. I'm sure it's just in my head, but, being on Texas ground, that Shiner tasted particularly good. :-)

The dinner was good. Most of the UNC students and alumni hung out together, and it was good to see old friends like Vince, Tynia, Karl S., and Avneesh. The dancing was kinda boring at first; they played a lot of slow, old-timey (read: boring) stuff at first, like "Unchained Melody". But Sasa eventually prevailed in getting the DJ to play that "Superman" song by Soulja Boy, for which he had earlier taught us the choreography. When it came on, the guys took the floor and made a mess of the choreography, all kinda looking around at each other, thinking, "what's next?" But it was fun. :-)

After that, we bombarded the newlyweds with bubbles on their way to the getaway car. I mean, we had a serious gauntlet going. I think the soap solution was particularly good or something. Then we caught the shuttle back to our various hotels (trying and failing to get a good song started from the back seat), changed, and went out on the town. It was about 11 pm at that point. We ended up at a place on the Riverwalk called "Dick's". It was nice that we got to sit by the river and that it was quiet enough that we could talk. But, the place was kinda...meh. Intentionally run-down and trashy-looking, for one. The server was quite scantily clad, and intentionally rude/sarcastic--which is part of the supposed allure of the place, I gather (hence the name). I was also kinda grumpy, having had a long day and a headache and being up way past my bedtime. It was still nice to hang out with everyone, and I gotta give 'em points for having Fat Tire on tap, but I was very happy when I finally crashed into bed sometime around 2am.

I got up again at 5:45, caught the shuttle at 6:15, caught my 8:15 flight, and slept all the way to Houston. Then I slept almost all the way to Raleigh. Then I got home, and slept some more. You'd think I'd be caught up on sleep by then, but after a full night's rest that night, I proceeded to take a 3-hour nap in my office on Monday. But, now I'm all caught up. 'Twas a good, fun, full weekend! Congratulations to Russ and Sarita!

Friday, I flew to Arkansas to attend a wedding. I got there around 9:30 pm, and my dad picked me up from the airport. I had decided that I wanted to hang out with the Hotzes while I was in town, and they were expecting me. So, after Dad went back to his weekday apartment in Rogers, I took his Cadillac (the one that was mine for a week or two) to Fayetteville, about a half-hour drive, stopping at Sonic on the way. (Mmm, Sonic...)

It was so good to see Daniel, Cassidy, and the kids. Daniel was my best friend growing up. We met on the soccer team, when I was like 14 and homeschooled, and he lived a five-minute bike ride away. It's so great, seeing old friends. Even though you haven't stayed in close touch, and you have to catch each other up on your lives, there's still such a bond there. You don't have to be mindful of accidentally offending them or anything, you can just be, and be loved...and love. It's great. We had a great time together, and when I eventually thought to look at my watch, it was like 3:30 in the morning. Wow.

I crashed at Dad's place, and moved to the bed when he got up. I got up at 10ish, and we left around 11 to meet my mom, my sister, and my sister's boyfriend at the Marketplace (a restaurant). After, we went to War Eagle Mill, a quaint grist mill where they actually grind grain into flour with water power. That's one of our favorite places to go on a Saturday afternoon in Northwest Arkansas. There are people around, and cars, but it's still mighty serene to stand on the one-lane bridge and look at the small dam, the mill wheel, the huge dark shapes of carp under the dam, the stream, the ducks, the minnows... And, like at the Hotzes, it was great to just hang out, love, and be loved. I'm so blessed. For real.

We went back to my Dad's apartment, and I got snazzed up for the wedding. It was on the U of A campus in Fayetteville, on the arboretum area and behind Old Main, the campus's most historic building and landmark. It was a pretty wedding on the back steps of Old Main, with a string quartet, and a minstrel friend who strummed the guitar and sang "Amazing Grace". Afterwards we ate and hung out at Carnall Inn, which was like a 2 minute walk away. Jonathan, the groom, was my old college buddy. I met him through MGB (Michael), who was also there, in from Boston. The three of us used to hang out and drink all the time, my junior and senior year. Jonathan is one of the funniest guys I know. He has the kind of natural gift of humor, being all animated, doing great impressions, and telling stories with just the right level of creative detail. I'll never forget the impression he did of ants getting sprayed with Windex. MGB is also pretty funny, sharp as a whip, and gregarious as anyone I've ever met. Heh, he's like 6'6"...we walked to Dickson St. to get cigars, and it was sprinkling outside, so he borrowed an umbrella from the front desk. But not just any umbrella, a tiny, hot-pink one. Yeah, we got some stares... (By the way, I gained a healthy respect for cigars, and learned how not to smoke them.)

I eventually drove to Dad's apartment at like 10 or 11pm, wrote in my (physical) journal for a while, and fell asleep. I had to get up earlier than I think I ever have before: 4 am. And that's 2 am the time I'm used to! But I made my 5:45 am flight, and I made it home OK, thanks to a ride from Matt. On the 3-hour flight from Dallas to San Diego, I had a great conversation with a 50-something business man named Leeman. He was such an interesting, fun guy. We got really into a meaning-of-life, wisdom-exchanging conversation, and before we knew it, two hours had passed. Now that's the way to fly.

I flew out to San Diego on Sunday (the 13th). After dropping my parents off at the airport in the afternoon, I came back and cleaned like a madman. My mom had already done a lot, but I actually tidied everything up. My apartment as I left it was tidier than at any time I've been there. I also did laundry and packed, fitting everything I could into two suitcases and a backpack.
( The thought of flying makes me sigh... )
On the next flight, I watched The Painted Veil with Ed Norton and Naomi Watts. It was entertaining, I suppose, most mostly forgettable. Then I slept 'til we landed. When I got there, I got my bags, and my new housemates were kind enough to come pick me up from the airport. Hello, San Diego!

Craigslist is da bomb. I hopped on there to look for summer housing today, realizing that I am planning on flying in to San Diego in T-minus 2 weeks. Well, after a few emails and phone calls, I found a place. It's a bit south of campus. I think it will be about a 1.5 mile walk to work. I'll try walking it for the first few days, and if it's too long, I'll look into the bus routes or maybe a bike. Oh yeah, groceries, restaurants, and whatnot are an easy walk.

Hmm, maybe I haven't mentioned this yet. I won't be taking my car to California. It's too long of a drive, and too expensive, and I think I can live just fine without it. I'm letting Daniel, a friend at church, borrow the car for the summer, so it's not like it will be just sitting there.

Now, to book a flight for Sunday, May 13th. ;-)

Some of the workshop attendees complained about US Airways messing up their plans. One guy from Texas came a day late because of them. Now I have my own US Airways story.
( Why you shouldn't fly US Airways... )
Today, I went to pick up Russ from the airport, and got there an hour and a half early to hunt for my bag. I didn't find it. (There were at least a hundred bags on the ground there.) So I waited in line again. It was about the same length. I talked with some interesting people. One, Heather from Albany, NY, is a voiceover actor. She was in town to train people on voiceover acting. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, I finally get to talk to somebody, and they tell me that they can't put a claim in the database for me because it's been over 4 hours since my arrival. Have any of you ever heard of this rule? I wonder if it's just US Airways. The lady took my phone number down and said she'd call me if it turned up. I'm none too thrilled about it, but there's not much I can do, apparently. I'll try calling their general customer service line tomorrow. (I had done that today, but I got disconnected waiting for a representative. Others in line said they had the same experience.) Ah well, at least there were only dirty clothes in there. And my Bible. And my jacket. And my dress shoes and belt. And my books. And if you're wondering why I'm smelly/unkempt/unshaven, it's because my deoderant/comb/electric razor was in there too. :-/ Maybe this time I'll succeed in growing a scraggly beard. ;-)

The Friday of fall break (10/20), Russ, Ipek, and I left for Lynchburg, Virginia, to attend the wedding of Brian and Carol. It was about a 3 hour drive, and after checking in at our hotel around 9, we went to O'Charley's for some grub. I inadvertently gave the waiter a hard time. First, I asked about some small print on the drink menu that said "designated drivers get a free O'douls". He had to go check with his manager. Then, I asked if I could get a bowl of potato soup with my burger instead of fries. He had to go check with his manager. Finally, my burger was burned, so I had to send it back. My bad, dude!

We then went in search of some local bar for a beer. First we tried to find a downtown area, but apparently there isn't one in Lynchburg. Then we asked Google, which directed us to "The Local Pub". We finally found it, parked in a mostly-empty gravel lot in a seedy neighborhood across the street from some abandoned warehouse-looking buildings. Shady. We turn the corner of the boxy concrete building calling itself "The Local Pub", and country music assaults our ears. We balked, and quickly scurried back to the car. No thanks! Instead, we went to a nearby Ham's, and met up with Morten and Mike H., who drove up separately.

Saturday, we got up, grabbed some breakfast courtesy of the hotel. (Biscuits and gravy! Waffles! Not your typical hotel fare.) Then we went to the wedding, which was outside of Lynchburg in a nice restaurant/wedding house. The ceremony was outside in fold-up chairs. While we were waiting, we heard a clatter a few rows up. Shortly, who stood up but Morten (who is 6'5")! Apparently he had broken his chair, but he plaid it off well, bowing and chuckling.

The ceremony was short and sweet. We were dismissed to the dining area, where we sat at assigned tables and had a tasty meal. (Oh, and there was an open bar, too. They were generous!) Afterwards, there was a mostly aborted attempt to get a dance floor going, though I got a little YMCA action started. ;-) The cake cutting was cool: they stuffed cake in each other's faces. There was also a sweet slideshow. I really like those at weddings.

On the way out of town, we decided to play some putt-putt with all (well, most) of the Chapel Hillians in town. Afterwards, we went next door to eat some tasty and cheap food at a local restaurant called Vinny's. A good time was had by all!

Well, I'm finally here in Berkeley! I left Barstow around 11am and got here around 4 or 5. Dennis, my sublettor, let me into the garage and showed me around the place, then I started moving my stuff in. I haven't fully unpacked yet, but I have set up my computer. I'm pretty tired from all the driving, and besides it's actually 1:30 in the time I'm used to, so I'll probably hit the sack soon so I can be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for day 1 of work tomorrow.

The drive went well. I left Amarillo at 10am yesterday. I drove across New Mexico and Arizona, marveling at the rugged beauty of the jagged desert. Flagstaff, being in the middle of the "Kaibab" forest, surprised me with its conifers. All in all I've just been amazed at how beautiful the drive has been, in its own barren sort of way. I got in to Barstow around 9:30pm (pacific time), found a hotel, and walked around town a bit before finding a place to get a beer.

Today, after setting up the computer, I split off to do reconnaissance and find a place to eat. I settled on a pub/grill called Henry's, where I met a nice girl named Nancy, who told me where I should go for groceries and whatnot. I think me and Berkeley are going to get along just fine.

I'm here at my parents' place in Russellville, Arkansas. I stayed up until around 3:30 Wednesday night, cleaning and packing, then got up and hit the road by 7:30 on Thursday. I had a nice breakfast with capriciousbee in Winston-Salem, then continued stabbing westward. By around 7pm Central time, I had supper with my good friend "Miek" in Forrest City, Arkansas, and I got here by midnight. Ooh ooh, and I ate lunch at a Sonic in Tennessee! Oh, how I've missed Sonic! :-D

Today, I woke up around 1:30, slowly got up and around, then went out to get a gift for my mom, as well as to wash my car. My dad gives me a hard time if the car is dirty; he says that kind of a car shouldn't be dirty. ;-) Then, we helped my seester, spidersays, move her stuff, and ate yummy burritos with my whole family and Simon, the boyfriend. It was so nice to see my folks!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to head for Amarillo (520 miles). I'll get to see some grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. After that, the plan is to rest for a day in Amarillo, get to Barstow, California by Monday night (960 miles), and then Berkeley by the afternoon or evening of Tuesday (410 miles). It's a lot of driving, but I'm looking forward to it.