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quidditchgrrlYes, I'm alive! Trip to NC, RL issues, lack of internet access from home - all of these things have been conspiring against my spending every waking moment time reading LJs.
Currently I'm on a news embargo. Crying while on the Arc Trainer is Not Good. Fucking Bush. Fucking useless Iraq war. Fucking useless Don Rumsfeld. Saw a tee-shirt Ben Jelen wore that said "American Psycho" with a pic of Bush. I really want that shirt now.
My sister and I drove down to Fayetteville, NC to visit our family down there. Nearly killed twice by semis, one who blew a tire while we were passing and another who was driving while drowsy. And there are no rumble strips on the WVA turnpike. :|
Saw my kick-ass brother, who is still in process trying to get a job with one of the Abbreviated federal agencies. He's so unhappy right now. His job at the prison is boring to him, and he has to wait for tenure to be on any of the special response teams even though he graduated first in his class and even bested the shooting instructor. He's also not getting along with his wife, which makes it kind of awkward, you know? I want him to be happy - we kids are all the sort to have a positive outlook on life - and it upsets me to know he's not and that he has to bide his time. He deserves a fulfilling job like all brilliant people do.
Mal and I went exploring downtown Fayetteville the next morning. Saw...whatever they call it...a building where slaves were sold. For a Northerner, it was kind of creepy/scary/interesting. In the center of town is this beautiful, open building - where people were sold like livestock. Walking around, it just felt odd, I can't describe it.
But OMGSOUTHERNERSSOSLOWIWANTEDTOKILLKILLKILL. Ahem. I forgot about the southern way of life. Must be the heat or something.
Fayetteville is also strange in that it looks so run-down. I'm used to the anesthesized facades of Columbus, where old things are constantly torn down and new frontage put up. Fayetteville looks like development stopped in 1984. There are three things in Fayetteville - Fort Bragg, pawn shops, and churches. Oh, and relatively cheap designer bags. I came home with three. :D
Mal and I spent the rest of the weekend with my niece and her husband. I am totally amazed by the fact that my niece has grown up. She had severe ADHD growing up, but it seems all of the plugs found the right sockets. Now she's focused and her creativity shines. There are pictures and scrapbooks and photos all over her "house" (I'd not call a trailer a house, but it seems so many people live in trailers down there and call them "houses") and she's uber-organized. *wipes tear* She's done so well, so much better than I ever thought she'd turn out.
And her husband - they had a quickie wedding once she found out she was pregnant - rocked our socks. He's SF, responsible, frugal, respectful...I just can't say enough good things about him. Stevie couldn't have done better had we made him ourselves. He was so nice, treats Stevie so lovingly (but doesn't put up with her shit when she dishes it out), and was so happy to know us. He didn't get upset that Stevie wanted to spend time with us, was appreciative of all of our gifts (we got the baby an obscene amount of clothes and accessories, bought them a microwave and bought him a volleyball/badminton set). Thank goodness it's him and not any of the other yahoos Stevie went around with before.
The last night there we hung out with Chris' SF buddies. They all served in Afghanistan for a year and a half together and are all pretty close. I thought it was amazing that they all went through this extreme experience, but are still typical 23-24 year old guys who like to drink beer, talk shit about each other and play video games. There was some talk about the guys who haven't fared so well, but you'd never know they were SF aside from their haircuts. It certainly proved Mark Twain's assertion that a patriot is "the person who can holler loudest without knowing what he is hollering about."
Saw various other relatives - former sister-in-law, great-nieces and nephews - crazy to see my brother's current wife and his ex-wife swinging on a porch swing together.
No strange mishaps on the way home, thank goodness.
And can I ask a question of you Southerners? What is up with the suspicious attitude? We were followed about by the owner of a tea shop, then I was criminalized by the Wal-Mart checkpoint man, and finally tailed by the perfume lady at Belk's. WTF? I felt, felt...well, Black. Is it like that everywhere down South or do you all think it was just the area (Fayetteville doesn't have the greatest economy)? My gentle Northern sensibilities were offended *sniff*
So, that's it for me.
Randomly:
All right, if you haven't read Dark Directed, click on that damn link and start!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fearthainn, I'll be reviewing soon, once I've digested the epilogue properly and can do more than squeal fangirlishly.
PoA previews: All I can say is, move over Dan, Rupert is turning into the heartthrob! Yum. Yum..not perving at all, nope, not at all. :-P~
chickadilly - love ya hon! I haven't been on YM lately to chat, but I've been thinkin' about you lately.
Hugs and love to those who need them, especiallyrainpuddle13 who lost her mother very recently.
Currently I'm on a news embargo. Crying while on the Arc Trainer is Not Good. Fucking Bush. Fucking useless Iraq war. Fucking useless Don Rumsfeld. Saw a tee-shirt Ben Jelen wore that said "American Psycho" with a pic of Bush. I really want that shirt now.
My sister and I drove down to Fayetteville, NC to visit our family down there. Nearly killed twice by semis, one who blew a tire while we were passing and another who was driving while drowsy. And there are no rumble strips on the WVA turnpike. :|
Saw my kick-ass brother, who is still in process trying to get a job with one of the Abbreviated federal agencies. He's so unhappy right now. His job at the prison is boring to him, and he has to wait for tenure to be on any of the special response teams even though he graduated first in his class and even bested the shooting instructor. He's also not getting along with his wife, which makes it kind of awkward, you know? I want him to be happy - we kids are all the sort to have a positive outlook on life - and it upsets me to know he's not and that he has to bide his time. He deserves a fulfilling job like all brilliant people do.
Mal and I went exploring downtown Fayetteville the next morning. Saw...whatever they call it...a building where slaves were sold. For a Northerner, it was kind of creepy/scary/interesting. In the center of town is this beautiful, open building - where people were sold like livestock. Walking around, it just felt odd, I can't describe it.
But OMGSOUTHERNERSSOSLOWIWANTEDTOKILLKILLKILL. Ahem. I forgot about the southern way of life. Must be the heat or something.
Fayetteville is also strange in that it looks so run-down. I'm used to the anesthesized facades of Columbus, where old things are constantly torn down and new frontage put up. Fayetteville looks like development stopped in 1984. There are three things in Fayetteville - Fort Bragg, pawn shops, and churches. Oh, and relatively cheap designer bags. I came home with three. :D
Mal and I spent the rest of the weekend with my niece and her husband. I am totally amazed by the fact that my niece has grown up. She had severe ADHD growing up, but it seems all of the plugs found the right sockets. Now she's focused and her creativity shines. There are pictures and scrapbooks and photos all over her "house" (I'd not call a trailer a house, but it seems so many people live in trailers down there and call them "houses") and she's uber-organized. *wipes tear* She's done so well, so much better than I ever thought she'd turn out.
And her husband - they had a quickie wedding once she found out she was pregnant - rocked our socks. He's SF, responsible, frugal, respectful...I just can't say enough good things about him. Stevie couldn't have done better had we made him ourselves. He was so nice, treats Stevie so lovingly (but doesn't put up with her shit when she dishes it out), and was so happy to know us. He didn't get upset that Stevie wanted to spend time with us, was appreciative of all of our gifts (we got the baby an obscene amount of clothes and accessories, bought them a microwave and bought him a volleyball/badminton set). Thank goodness it's him and not any of the other yahoos Stevie went around with before.
The last night there we hung out with Chris' SF buddies. They all served in Afghanistan for a year and a half together and are all pretty close. I thought it was amazing that they all went through this extreme experience, but are still typical 23-24 year old guys who like to drink beer, talk shit about each other and play video games. There was some talk about the guys who haven't fared so well, but you'd never know they were SF aside from their haircuts. It certainly proved Mark Twain's assertion that a patriot is "the person who can holler loudest without knowing what he is hollering about."
Saw various other relatives - former sister-in-law, great-nieces and nephews - crazy to see my brother's current wife and his ex-wife swinging on a porch swing together.
No strange mishaps on the way home, thank goodness.
And can I ask a question of you Southerners? What is up with the suspicious attitude? We were followed about by the owner of a tea shop, then I was criminalized by the Wal-Mart checkpoint man, and finally tailed by the perfume lady at Belk's. WTF? I felt, felt...well, Black. Is it like that everywhere down South or do you all think it was just the area (Fayetteville doesn't have the greatest economy)? My gentle Northern sensibilities were offended *sniff*
So, that's it for me.
Randomly:
All right, if you haven't read Dark Directed, click on that damn link and start!
fearthainn, I'll be reviewing soon, once I've digested the epilogue properly and can do more than squeal fangirlishly.PoA previews: All I can say is, move over Dan, Rupert is turning into the heartthrob! Yum. Yum..not perving at all, nope, not at all. :-P~
chickadilly - love ya hon! I haven't been on YM lately to chat, but I've been thinkin' about you lately.Hugs and love to those who need them, especially
rainpuddle13 who lost her mother very recently.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 07:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:14 pm (UTC)Southerners are strange. We admit it.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:17 pm (UTC)(Says the girl who got a speeding ticket for being clocked at *ahem* 93mph once ... )
Heh.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:20 pm (UTC)Much love dah-ling,
Meg
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:29 pm (UTC)Southerners have *hem hem* interesting ideas, especially in more depressed areas. I was fortunate to have been raised by liberal parents, and to have spent most of my life in a decently sized metropolitan area. Others... well, suffice to say that there are many others that were not so fortunate. I've never been to Fayetteville but I came from a place very much like it, and it's very easy for people in such places to pick out those who don't "belong" there. And yes, I'd say they're suspicious of them. Y'know, some of them base their idea of Northerners on a handed-down story of The Day the Yankees Took Daddy's Plantation. I'm not too fond of these sorts of people, but I've learned to realise over the years that a lot of it's not their fault. Alas. I'll shut up now.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-11 08:43 pm (UTC)Hehe, would ya guess that I don't particularly fit in down here? My ideologies don't quite match up with the typical Southern fry. Though times are a'changin in most areas of the South (KY anyway), there will always be areas that will remain backward (in the view of the rest of the world). Forever.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 04:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 10:51 am (UTC)"Yank'n it up" indeed. ;->
I learned to walk more slowly in Savannah after nearly giving myself heatstroke a few times trying to get things done at my normal, Yankee, pace. It's pleased I am to be back in a more Northern clime where I can hustle without the worry of fainting etc. Besides, there's only so much clothing one can take OFF and remain decent, and it was hot down there!
Sounds as if you had a good time, though, and that's what counts. I've been following your health reports with interest and concern and am glad you're doing better.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:39 pm (UTC)Must have been the clothes or the walk or something that gave away our Yankee roots. Darn, and we thought we were passing. :P
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:46 pm (UTC)But some of us love you anyway. Even with your yankee contaminations.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:46 pm (UTC)Ahem. Thanks for the wb!
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-12 08:51 pm (UTC)Thanks for the concern. Things are sorta looking up, which is good.