Long weekend recap

Spent a long weekend in Florida at Carrie's place. It was way cool to see her for the first time in more than two years. It was even cooler when I realized the roughly four-hour drive isn't bad at all (versus the 14-hour drive from Memphis).

The great thing about old friends (err, I mean friends you've known for a long time; I'd never imply you're old, Carrie!) is that there's no pretense or catch-up period. It's like picking up where you left off. And that meant we didn't make huge efforts to stay occupied every minute of the day. We did a little shopping, made some jewelry, drank some coffee, visited a planetarium. But we also spent a lot of time watching TV (I saw House for the first time!) and just chatting.

Now that I'm home, it's back to the lonely grind of looking for a job. I'm a little frustrated because there's just not a lot on the market right now. I'd like to believe I'm a good editor, but that doesn't do me a lot of good if nobody needs an editor right now. (If anyone knows of networking opportunities, open positions, etc., drop me an e-mail or a comment.)

Next week, I wrap up my last contract job with the newspaper. After that, my parents and grandmother are in town for a visit. At least I've got a few things here and there to keep my mind off the whole job situation.

Apologies for the long break from blogging. Had quite a few days there in which I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and not get out of bed. Though I briefly considered canceling the trip, I'm glad I went because now I know I can travel on the cheap (spent more on gas than anything else) and still have a good time.

What news?

I worked in business news for years, which meant I read the wire, like, 10 times a day and split my free TV time between cartoons and serious stuff such as CNN. Before work? Local and national TV news. Commute time? NPR or Headline News on XM. Before bed? Local news.

Now I live 15 minutes from the beach. I go there three or four times a week (which is three or four times more than I'd ever expected to go), so I get my biz news in 15-minute snippets of CNBC.

I was only peripherally aware of the Lehman and Merrill stories until just a little while ago.

Well, at least I haven't completely fallen off the news wagon. I know some folks who practically live under a rock when it comes to what's going on outside their window.

For people who hate reading the newspaper

"The leaves are falling back east -- that's where I'm gonna stay"

Ben Folds Five is reuniting for one concert Sept. 18, 200 miles from here in Chapel Hill. They're going to play the entire The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner front to back.

Tickets go on sale Monday and I'm so tempted to go, despite living on only one income right now. Reinhold has a special place in my heart for personal reasons. Having BFF together for the first time in a decade to play the entire thing is awesome.

I think there are only two artists I'd buy tickets to see despite being broke: Tori Amos and Ben Folds.

Self-imposed progress report

A few days ago, I posted about wanting to be more in control of the decisions I make. I also said I wanted to have more fun while I'm not working. It's really easy to just hang around the apartment all day and not do anything.

I quit the Abilify (or, as Paul and I call it, Debilify) and felt way more motivated to get out and do things. So that in itself is a big step.

In addition, I've tried to make one decision or do for myself one thing every day. Here's how it went:

Thursday: Saw Mamma Mia! and forced myself to talk to two women about a good place to get a tattoo. They said tattoos have been legal in South Carolina for only a short time, so a lot of people drive to Savannah, Ga. (100 miles away), for a tattoo.

Friday: Decided to cook sweet and sour chicken for dinner. That's a big deal because (1.) I rarely cook, and (2.) I decided what I wanted without consulting anyone, and (3.) it was a hard recipe and I pulled it off.

Saturday and Sunday: Went to the beach! Picked up cool shells, fought the rip currents to go swimming (what a workout!), got a bit of sun. Also, Saturday, used a gift certificate and went to a really nice tapas restaurant across town.

Monday: Saw The Rocker and ate potato skins at the movie theater. Silly movie, good food -- talk about random indulgence.

Today: Okay, this wasn't really fun, but I woke up early and went with Paul to get an extended warranty on the Vue. Way expensive but totally worth it because I can now drive home or visit Carrie whenever I want (... or go to concerts, etc.). I feel the urge to get out there and just drive, but gas does cost money.

Speaking of concerts, I'm seriously, seriously considering seeing Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers in concert here next week. Their tours never seem to make it outside Arizona. Okay, that's a stretch, but they never seem to make it far enough east to get close to me. Again, random indulgence, but the tickets are only $15 and there's no telling if I'll get that chance again.

So there you have it. I'm very proud of myself.

My first hurricane

I haven't lived in Charleston for even a month, and already we're facing our first hurricane. It was just a matter of time, I guess. I keep soothing myself with the fact Paul's labmate from Memphis is teaching in the Rochester area, where it snows 94 inches a year. (What's a couple of hurricanes compared to that?)

Paul and I are going to Saturn this morning to buy an extended warranty on my car. We've determined that, though it's really expensive and we're already stretched incredibly thin while I'm not working, it's a necessity because of the amount I drive. We dealt with several expensive repairs with my last Saturn, which means this likely will pay for itself in the next couple of years -- especially if we're dealing with things like high water and evacuations and whatnot.

Paul has a meeting at the Cit this morning about hurricane prep. I hope there's a little hand-holding in that department because this is all new to us.

Then we're going out tonight, hurricane preparedness guide in hand, to buy supplies. (Yay, more money.) The suggestion is to imagine you're going camping for three days with no facilities. You'll need water, clothes, food, cat supplies (because I often go camping with my cats!), air mattresses and whatnot. And even after I've spent all this money -- which I'll be writing off on my taxes -- I've got to find a place to store my kit.

This is a little bit surreal, and the timing is impeccable. Johanna flies in on Friday for a visit. Well, she's scheduled to fly in Friday. The way things look now, that flight might be delayed because of bad weather. No matter. It'll be a real adventure if she's with us if we have to evacuate. :D