November 12, 2002

Hi, Just a quick note to let you know that the power cord on my laptop died, yesterday so I'm running on pure battery power till I get a new cord later today. Thanks to the fine folks at Apple Computer for replacing the broken part for free. Will have a new update tonight.

Peace

Mike

November 10, 2002

Hi Everyone. I just got home from a very busy day with my family; yes I know what I just typed. Today I got to be a Dad, an Uncle, and a brother all in one day. It was totally incredible. Cheryl and Danny came up from St. Augustine to see me and for Cheryl to see Tori Amos in concert. I also arranged it with Angela for me to have William for the full day. It was a great experience all the way around. It was Cheryl’s first time on seeing her nephew since he was six weeks old, so it was going to be interesting on how they were going to react to each other. As always William was slightly shy with a new person but he warmed up quite quickly to her, so it was nice to hear him saying “Aunt Cheryl come here and see this”, and he had no problems warming back up to his Cousin Dan. To make the day fun for all, we went to Fallbrook, the Natural History Museum here in Atlanta. It was quite fun especially the full sized dinosaur skeletons that they had in the lobby. William looked in total awe seeing everything, for the whole trip home, he growled like a Dinosaur. I love seeing the world through his eyes. No matter how down and out I might get about everything, 5 minutes with William is the best pick me up in the world. Even six hours after dropping him back off at his mom’s I’m smiling ear-to-ear thinking about the day we had.

After the museum then William got to meet his Great Uncle Roy and Aunt Ivy, and cousin Dan. He took to them quite quickly. Which was really nice. I was a little worried about how he was going to react to meeting so many new people in one day. But of course as always with him, my fears were totally unjust. William came through like a superstar. Ok I am sounding like a proud poppa, well like always I am. Yesterday again just showed me that it was the right thing to move down to Georgia to stay close to William and be a major part of his life.

On the job and apartment front, I’m still doing the search as always for my dream job, nothing really new to report. I have had a few leads but nothing concrete has come to pass yet. I showed my sister Odd Todd when she got up here on Saturday, of course it had us all laughing, but for me watching Todd’s video again, made me think how much our life’s (& probably a lot more dot goners) mirror each other. I have gotten at least a dozen e-mails asking me if I was really Todd. I thanked them of course for the compliment, but I don’t take the credit for work that he did. That’s the first rule of being an artist with ethics, never take credit for work others have done. It is funny and kind of flattering though when you do see your own artwork, HTML code or website style on another web site (It happens a lot more then you would actually think). Apartment wise I have started looking more into the city of Atlanta then in the Berbs. The more I think about it though the more it fits me, at least at till I learn the area better, and I want to find someplace special this time, since I don’t want to move again for at least a year or two. (Heck, longer would be better this time).

Everything else is going pretty well, just the usual day-to-day stuff. I’m going to have to start writing these updates a lot earlier, it’s now 1am on the 11th and I still have to format the pictures from today, and convert the column into HTML. Ok I’m out of here, I hear Thunder in the distance, the TV just came and they are calling for severer Thunder Storms all night, time to log off the computer.

Talk to you all soon

Peace

Mike

November 6th

You know how spoiled I have gotten over the past few years having cable Internet. Its so incredible how slow dial up is after being used to lightning speeds unheard of by modern man. LOL Ok I’m slightly exaggerating, but still it’s one of the main reasons I have been in slight delays in getting the updated entries into the What’s new section.

First off I did make it to the eye doctor on Monday and here’s the results I have gotten. My vision is now 20/25, which is still relatively great compared to my vision pre-surgery. But six months ago I was 20/15 so that part isn’t too wonderful about the changes in my eyes. Also my night vision has gotten a lot worse. The doctor did give me a weak prescription for just driving at night. He told me to start seeing a real eye doctor (comp aired to the fake ones on the street corner) in about six months. And if my eyes get any worse then 20/30 he will put me under the laser again. (Thank god I was smart enough to get the lifetime adjustments). Overall it wasn’t that big of a deal for the doctors but I’m just glad to out into the open. I’m kind of disappointed that my eyes are already getting worse, but things happen and you can’t dwell on it. (glasses again, woo hoo, NOT).

Things here in Atlanta are still rolling on, have talked to a few headhunters about positions and a few have submitted me for a few positions. Now it’s just the waiting game. Yuck.

On a good front, this upcoming weekend Cheryl and Danny will be coming up to visit for the weekend. It will be nice since I’m going to have Aunt Cheryl meet William for the first time since he was a month a half old. This should be really fun to see them and how William is going to react to realizing that he has a whole side of his family he hasn’t even met yet. (But to a three year old is it really going to matter).

Anyway, I’m tired and I’m going to crash before 2am. I have a lot to comment on the elections yesterday, but will wait till tomorrow’s column, when I’m more coherent.

Peace

Mike

November 3rd

Ok where has the time gone, it just feels like it was yesterday that I was writing my first daily update at the beginning of October and that I was telling you of what the future had planned for me. Well here it is a month later, and boom I’m back in the thick of things here in the Atlanta area. Still haven’t found a f/t job yet but I have a feeling that it’s coming right around the corner. I don’t know why I feel that way maybe it’s hopes to start getting things off on a good foot down here or what? But in all truth it has been working out perfectly so far on my decision to come down here. Let’s hope it continues that way. Of course you all will be the first to know. (Well online that is).

The weekend was pretty good. I had some time to explore Atlanta a bit yesterday and today. I went and saw this area called Little 5 points, everyone has been calling it Atlanta’s version of “the Village”, well I have some news for them, the only thing it has in common with Greenwich Village in NY is some slightly artsy people (piercing everywhere) and a few funky shops, but the size was rather small overall. It was more like a scaled back version of Capital Hill in Seattle. I also walked around Decatur, (cute downtown area) and also explored the back roads of Roswell (Georgia, not New Mexico) and Alpharetta (all strip malls, and big houses). And of course downtown Atlanta, was interesting, to see a downtown area so barren. It seems like downtown is more alive during the workweek then on the weekends. A lot of cities are that way but Seattle did a lot to bring the people back to downtown district. (Atlanta could learn from that).

On Friday I got to enjoy a whole new southern treat that I had not even encountered before and boy do I feel the richer for it. My dear uncle introduced me to a taste he guaranteed me that I would just love. Boiled Peanuts. Well it was interesting to say the least. I think it’s probably an acquired taste. For those who hadn’t had the pleasure yet, it kind of tastes likes peas right out of the pod. Firm but soft at the same time. I can honestly say it’s not going to be something that I will go out of my way to eat, but at least I can say I did try them. I think grits is next on my life to say I have tried.

Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment to get my eyes checked again. Over the past month or so I have been noticing my eyes getting blurrier and I’m getting eyestrain in front of the computer a lot easier. (Also at night I sometimes see halos around lights). I would be lying if I wasn't worried about it (Being an artist it’s kind of important to me). But Don’t get me wrong I still would recommend the Lasik procedure, If you want to see pictures of the procedure on me click here. I’ll let you know tomorrow night what the doctor’s prognosis is.

Ok that’s it for tonight. I hope you all had a great weekend. I have a new local Atlanta cell phone number for anyone interested in it drop me an e-mail.

Talk to you soon

Peace

Mike

October 31st

Happy Halloween! Boo! Here come all the ghouls and goblins, going door to door scaring the locals and bringing tricks and asking for treats for all. Very, very scary.

Greeting from the South East, yup! I made it all the way across this great country of ours. (Well for my readers in the US that is). I know I promised you that I would be doing daily updates of the web site from the road. Well let me tell you something first and foremost that I had ever intention of doing it, but when you sign up with an internet service that is long distance from every small town in America it’s kind of hard to do make a connections to the "Wired World". Well enough of the excuses, boy do I have things to tell you guys.

Day 1 On the Road

The move out of the apartment was a lot tougher in a lot of ways then I originally thought it would be. Thank goodness I had Davey’s help or it would of taken a lot longer then it actually did. You couldn’t believe how little stuff actually fits into a 5 x 8 trailer. We ended up leaving a lot of furniture items behind (couch, chairs, and lamps) just for lack of room. The one good thing about it though was most of the stuff I left behind was from my married days and this means a whole fresh start for me, location wise and furniture wise.

I finally made it on the road by 5pm on Wednesday night (and got to visit Seattle’s rush hour for the last time). The first night’s goal was to get to Boise Idaho, which is about 500 miles from Seattle. The ride probably would have been very pretty going through the mountains of eastern Oregon during the day, but at night you couldn’t see much, except for the lights from the towns in the valley’s below. I made it to a small town just outside Boise about 2am Mountain time. Not to shabby, and I didn’t even push myself. I couldn’t really go to fast anyway pulling the trailer.

Day 2 -In the Middle of Nowhere

The second day I made it from just outside Boise Idaho to Salem Nebraska. I left around 9am, the day started out really gorgeous and comfortable (sunny and such) but by the end of the day I was driving through fog and snow showers, (yes snow at the end of October, who would of guessed). Idaho is very flat in the southern section, but very scenic with the mountains in the distance. My journey continued into Utah where while still remaining quite level the road stated to drive through valleys and along-side mountains that still take my breath away. The pictures I had taken didn’t even do them justice.

As I was driving though Utah I did start noticing that the temperature outside had started falling down into the low 30’s but didn’t think much of it until I got right over the Utah – Wyoming border and started seeing patches of this white stuff that your only supposed to see in the winter and in the mountains. Can you believe it? Snow. Well then I started think, wait a minute. The skies are clear, the roads are dry and no one else seems to notice (as they are flying by me going at least 80 to 90 mph) so on I went. Everything seemed fine until I got to mid state and the snow showers and ice pellets hit. Not fun by any means. Especially when I started hitting the Rockies around 7pm. The snow stated getting thicker and heavier, but at least with it being earlier in the season the snow ended up just making the road wet. If the weather had been nicer I would of probably stopped and seen a few of the roadside attractions. Especially the wood carved bust of Abraham Lincoln, about 30 miles east of Cheyenne Wyoming. I finally ended up crashing for the night at this rinky-dink hotel in Salem, Nebraska (about 50 miles into the state, at this point I was already 1/2 way across the country). A little side note here, Watching the TV a few days later I heard that Salem was hit with 12 inches of fresh snow two days after I left. Talk about good timing. Driving through the Midwest I had never before seen highways with gates across them, meant to close the roads in case of blizzards. Timing is everything my friends. Trust me on that one.

Day 3- The Road Less Traveled

The third day of the journey I made it from Salem, Nebraska to St. Louis, Missouri. The ride through Nebraska (which took most of the day) was very flat and uneventful. I had brought lots of CD’s on the trip, but I ended up mostly listening to NPR (some interesting farming shows in that part of the country), and David and Cindy gave me a book on tape to listen to. It was the new Steven King book "From a Buick 8". Overall it was a good book, it definitely made a lot of the trip a lot more exciting (especially Nebraska). The characters in the story were good, and the premise of the tale had a lot of potential but like most of his books as of late Steven King fell into the "predictable ending" trap, but it was still great to listen to. Thanks for the book guys. Once I got to Lincoln Nebraska I took some state roads so I could cut a small corner off of the trip (and make up some time) so I got to see of the actual countryside of Nebraska. It was a lot nicer and not as flat as I expected it to be. Rolling hills and trees as far as the eye could see (the same for Missouri). It was cool to see that houses that would be going for $400,000 or $500,000 in the Seattle area, are starting at only from the low $100,000 in Lincoln. Wow, what a difference the price of living makes in an area. When I got back onto the interstate the highway went into Iowa for about 20 miles then I was in Missouri for the rest of the day.

The first big city that I came to was Kansas City, and I have been told by many people that if you stop in Kansas City you need to get Bar-BQ. So on a hunch I pulled off the highway and found a great place called the Smoke House. Let me tell you, I have had great Bar-BQ in my day, but this just blew anything I have ever had before. It was fantastic. (Could I even say orgasmic, naaaaa). I even broke my rule of no red meat to partake in this tasty meal. Boy was it worth it.

The ride across Missouri was very uneventful other then the rain, and that I had started the day out in 28 degree temperatures in Nebraska to almost 65 when I got to St. Louis that night. I bunkered down once again at some hotel right outside of town, and had a very nice night (had purchased a second sandwich in KC and had a late supper, YUM!!!!).

Day 4 – The Final Leg

Saturday morning I decided to sleep in a little bit and take the last leg fairly easy. The rain from the night before had let up a little bit but was still a slight nuisance. Originally I had planned on doing the tourist thing and go to the top of the St. Louis arch. But with the weather the way it was I decided to just drive through. Also I figured why stop and take pictures of a gray arch with a gray sky behind it. I figure I’ll see it again. It was neat to see though. (Since I had only seen it in pictures, and I still can’t figure how the elevators get to the top). Also a thrill for me was to drive by the St. Louis airport (which I-70 goes right past) since it was featured in the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (the scene where Steve Martin tries to rent a car but it’s missing and has to trudge back to the terminal, then is greeted by almost getting run over by John Candy, OK I know the movie geek in me is coming out, but yes it’s one of my favorite films. Let me have my fun. It was a really long drive, LOL). OK, back to reality. From St. Louis I headed down into southern Illinois, which again wasn’t as flat as I pictured in my mind. As I was getting toward the bottom of the state I came across a sign that proclaimed "WELCOME TO METROPOLIS, THE HOME OF SUPERMAN" Of course that almost had me slamming on my breaks right there. So slowly coming into town I discovered that Metropolis a very small town which only had two strong points to it 1) the giant statue of Superman sanding in front of city hall. 2) A really nice riverboat casino (guess the main source of income for the town, and probably the main source of crime, hence Superman being here).

After my adventures in the fair city of Metropolis I headed back on the highway and headed into Kentucky, and then 50 miles later right into Tennessee. I don’t really know what I had pictured in my mind for the wonderful state of Tennessee, but it passed all expectations. I actually drove through Nashville, and got a full kick out of seeing signs for the "Grand Ol Opera" and such (Like I said it was a really long ride). I had already found a few places in Tennessee that I do want to return to once I get settled here in Atlanta. I drove past Lynchburg, TN home of Jack Daniels; I think I might need a full day to enjoy that tour. (WHAT, NO MORE FREE SAMPLES!!!! YOU CAN’T CUT ME OFF AT A DOZEN!!!). Also I want to do some hiking up at Rock City (you can see seven states from up there, I wonder if each one is in different colors just like a map?) Then in Chattanooga they have the Aquarium of Tennessee and also the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo (two great things to do with William). So finally after exactly three and a half days of driving, I finally made it into Georgia. At exactly 7:02 pm EST I pulled up to my uncles house in Canton, GA. Woo hoo. Not a bad feat for one man in a Pathfinder pulling a trailer diagonally across the country. Let me tell you it was so nice being able to stretch out of the car and feel the blood circulate in certain parts of my body. Overall I think this trip was incredible well balanced with out incident, I would of liked to have stopped more places (Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Kansas City, St. Louis, & Nashville) but that’s what you have the rest of your life for. I have learned especially from the recent past, you never know where your future may take you, so enjoy what you have today. OK that was even hokie in my standards.

Since I have been here in Atlanta I have been fully concentrating on finding a job and a new apartment. I have had had better luck in the second category. I have actually found some nice unique places down here, but I want to wait till I find a job. So I don’t have an hour commute each way. The traffic here in Atlanta is about just as bad as it was back in Seattle and LA. So until I find something I’ll be staying with my uncle and aunt in Canton. (Ok it dose feel a little bit like living at home again, but it will only be for a week or two, right?)ce I have been here in Atlanta I have been fully conce

Of course the main reason for coming down here paid off last night when I got to see William. It was the first time I had seen him since his birthday, boy was it was so wonderful. Even in the month since I had seen him he’s gotten so much bigger, and so much talkative and curious as ever. Da DA (that’s what he still calls me) why is the airplane in the sky flashing? Where is it going? Why are there bottles of wine on the wall? Why are they different colors? What flavors are they? Do they really make them with grapes? I could answer his questions all day long and be quite happy. The kid is quite cool, and I feel quite lucky to be part of his life. At least after the whole move out here, I know it was totally worth it.

Let’s see in the world around us we have tons of things to talk about starting with the catching of the DC area sniper. It was just incredible to hear the stories of how they finally caught the two men who had been terrorizing the whole mid Atlantic states for the past month. They still haven’t come out and state why the two men did what they did, and how they chose their victims or the locations. I was fully shocked how quickly it was over. I expected some kind of shoot out or a manhunt or such. I have talked to friends and family in the area and they all feel like they have all been given a chance at freedom. Maybe some people should see this as a new beginning and see where their life is going.

The other news was that the Anaheim Angels did it and won the World Series in seven games. I always said hell would freeze over before they won the big one, but I guess even a skeptic like me and admit he was wrong. I was rooting for the Giants, but the better team won, and now since the Angeles have shown they can win it, maybe the Mariners have a slight chance after all, well depending on who there new manager is going to be, since it looks like a shoe in for Lou at Tampa Bay (who would of thunk that one).

OK all, yes I’m alive, the What’s new updates are back on track. I hope your all doing well. Have fun tonight with all your ghosts and goblins, and will talk to you tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures from the trip

See Ya

Mike

P.S. Thanks to all who kept me company on the drive out. It made the drive a lot more bearable. Some of my conversations with myself were getting kind of scary. Remind me to tell you about my ideas about "Mike vs. Michael" – Very very scary!!!.

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