09:10 CDT Saturday 06/12/2004

Usual apology for not posting in a while.. Whew, now that that's past us we can get down to business.

I was out east in Pittsburgh, joining in the surprise for Kathleen's mother's birthday. We threw her a big to-do with streamers and chicken wings and everything. She was quite surprised, as expected. I also got the chance to meet a lot of Kathleen's relatives, which was fun. In the following days, Kathleen and I mostly did nothing around Pittsburgh. On Tuesday, Kathleen, her parents and I went to Kennywood. As one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, it has a bit of curious history (the Noah's Ark ride is more than a little bizarre), but also some great coasters and other rides. There's the Racer, which features two trains that race down parallel tracks, winners earning gloating rights over nothing really. The Exterminator is an indoor single-car coaster (as opposed to most train coasters) where your car spins freely on the track as it's rolling up and down the hills in the dark. The Phantom's Revenge is a classic big steel coaster with big drops and dips. Kennywood was definitely a ton of fun.

I was scheduled to fly back home on Wednesday, but the weather in Detroit was being quite unfriendly. I opted to stay a bonus day with Kathleen rather than have the airline cover a hotel room in Detroit after sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours. I'm happy with my choice.

Also, nothing is sure yet, but odds are looking good on a job opportunity. Keep your fingers crossed, prayers rolling, animals sacrificed, however you implore the higher power for your desires. Anyway, I'll need all the help I can get. :)

20:11 CDT Wednesday 06/16/2004

Woo and hoo!!! I got me a jobby job. Yes, I'm already gainfully employed with Sprint, but, as you may be aware, I've been hankering for a job that fills out my skill set a little more for some time now. That, and I've very much been trying to get nearer to Kathleen. I haven't gotten it cleared with work whether it's okay to give details on the job in a public way, like this website (because it can be quite bad if it's not cleared, as a friend of mine found out the hard way), so I won't give any details except to say that I should be in the Windy City for little while to come, at least. Chicago, I'm coming back! I should be in town by the beginning of July. Woo and yah!

Links and whatnot to the new company once that's cleared as completely kosher, but suffice it to say, I'm really excited. ..and I'll be taking down all the pleading for a job you may have seen plastered on various parts of the website.

Oh, and I thought I'd be elitist and wish you a happy Bloomsday, but it seems CNN even figured it out, so it's not exactly elitist. So, to still manage elitism, I'll say that I shall belatedly celebrate with Power.

10:11 CDT Thursday 06/24/2004

Good long weekend! This past weekend was the annual (hiatus periodically..) Kelly Pool Extravaganza. John put some pictures on his site from the proceedings. Enjoy.

On Monday, my step-mom and I headed up to the Chicago-land area to look at apartments for me. I settled on the Oaks at Knollwood (Don't worry, I got a healthy discount below those prices.). It looks like a nice place, and I'm not too far from either work or a Metra station. It's all panning out. Now just to do the move, which I am dreading a bit. Wow.. wait until I actually have a lot of stuff to move.

My last day at Sprint is Saturday the 26th. I start at the new place on July 6th. In between, I may manage some downtime, but more than likely I'll be packing, moving, or unpacking. I will be back in KC briefly on the 17th for a Guster/Ben Folds/Some Schmo (not Rufus) show. My plans do not extend past that at this point. Hopefully I'll see Kathleen soon. :)

10:22 CDT Monday 06/28/2004

Well, the move is sort of coming together. The plan for today is to pick up some boxes. John and I didn't really need a whole lot of boxes on the last move, because we mostly just tossed everything in the moving truck and drove 10 minutes across town. The fragile things we put in our cars. It all made it splendidly. 10 hours across country will be a little rougher on my stuff, so I'm getting a few boxes this time. Whew.. It's all going to be okay. I just need to keep telling myself that. :)

Then off to Target to get a few things that I'll definitely need but have been half-borrowing from John. I still need plates, pot and pans, garbage cans, a few utensils and many other random things. Soon, I'll be back on my feet, I swear..

To make it clear, all you folks who've been planning trips to Kansas City to see me, scratch them. Reschedule for Chicago, or at least the burbs. I'll serve up a nice crock-pot stew on paper plates with plastic silverware! Bon Appetit!

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