A Gainesville Thanksgiving Reality Check

So I'm in Gainesville for Thanksgiving. It's good to see my family again.

I got to my parents' house around 11 P.M. on Wednesday. I was pretty tired and so were they so we went to bed soon after I arrived.

Today was eventful. This morning we went to the John Paul II Mission off of Atlanta Highway in Gainesville. The mission is in the middle of the Hispanic part of town. This area is a very poor area, with run down houses and trailers everywhere. Anyway we brought food and drinks to the mission and helped serve the needy folks who otherwise would not have had a Thanksgiving meal. It was pretty gratifying and it helped realign my perspective. You don't know how good you have it until you see people who don't have much at all. I'm glad I decided to go and help. There were many smiling faces when we left.

We ate our own Thanksgiving meal when we got back to the house. My mom had to work today so we ate early. The meal was excellent as usual. Afterwards my Dad and I tried to watch the Lions-Titans game, but it was such a blowout that we decided to play dominoes instead. I put some music on and rolled the bones onto the floor. Midway through our game my grandfather shows up unannounced. I've never been close to him but it was good to see him. Unfortunately my mom wasn't here to see him. He didn't stay very long since he's been feeling bad lately.

After he left my dad and I finished our game. He ended up winning this round. I then took Mona for a walk and decided to call Casey. I talked with her for a while then hit the baseball with my brother and sister. They were amazed at how far I could hit the ball. It's nice to be the big brother that can impress them. Honestly, I had fun playing with them.

I've got to change the brakes on my car tomorrow. I may have to get one of the rotors turned since the metal from the brake calipers has been scraping on it. Hopefully it won't need to be replaced. Tomorrow night I'm heading to Athens to see the crew and go to the Tech game. Hopefully the winning streak will continue.

I'm listening to Because of the Times by Kings of Leon. I would say it's their best album. Then again, they haven't made a poor album to date.

Criminality

The following happened last week. I meant to blog about it that day but totally forgot.

Ryan and I were driving through Camden, SC on Tuesday. We were on US 521 in the middle of town. Suddenly an unmarked police SUV pulls out about 50 yards in front of our truck. About three seconds later I see a man running from around a house with two police officers chasing him, guns drawn. They proceed to run down the embankment and into the road. The perpetrator runs into the SUV and falls to the ground directly beside my truck. He tries to get up but is kneed in the back by one of the cops. At this point the chase is over.

I haven't felt that much adrenaline pump through my body in quite some time. When I saw the criminal running towards the road I was thinking I should either hit him with my truck or stop entirely. Of course I did neither of those things. Then I thought about what I was going to do if he attempted to enter my truck. Was I going to be able to fight him off? Was he going to draw a weapon on me? Fortunately, nothing happened to Ryan or myself.

If you're looking for excitement, go to Camden on a Tuesday afternoon.

Happiness is a Warm Gun

I've been meaning to blog about quite a number of things since the last post but I just haven't found the time. Now that I've finished the panel of plots for the year I've got more time to devote to other things.

My parents came to North Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago for vacation. On the way there they stopped to see me in Florence. The really liked my house and my siblings were stoked to play my roommate's Wii. We went to dinner and then they were on their way.

On Wednesday, I took the day off from work and drove down to spend the day with them. The condo they were staying in was very nice and right on the water. We headed to Wilmington, NC and spent the afternoon touring this old battleship and the downtown area. Wilmington is a very quaint town that I thoroughly enjoyed.

When we got back we spent some time walking on the beach. My brother and sister spent their time looking for seashells since it was their first time at the beach. I spent my time looking out to the horizon thinking about nothing in particular. I left around 6:30 to go on my second date with Casey.

Casey is a wonderful person. We met on this free online dating website (it's not as weird as you think) and on our first date we went to a Halloween gala at Broadway at the Beach. We had a great time. She is originally from St. Louis, MO and just recently moved to Surfside Beach. She has her master's degree in Information Systems (or something like that) and works in the research department at the library of Coastal Carolina University. She's a few years older than I am which is fine with me.

Anyway, for our second date we went to this hibachi restaurant in Myrtle Beach. Then we went to this bar and spent the next few hours talking and such. Nothing spectacular, but she captivated my attention for the duration. She provoked me into conversation and it came easily for me, which is good since most of the time I have trouble verbalizing thoughts. We said our goodbyes and planned on seeing each other the next weekend.

Well, as the weekend approached, the plans kept changing. First we were going to go to a comedy club. Then we were going to do a cheap date with pizza and a night at the skating rink. Then we were going to take a day trip to Charleston or Wilmington. We finally settled on the third option. I went to see Quantum of Solace on Friday and after the movie was over she called and wanted to change plans again. Now were going to Wilmington and getting a hotel room for the evening. Crazy I know. I said that was fine and we decided to meet in Wilmington rather than driving together.

Driving there was awful. It rained the entire time and I could barely see. She got lost and ended up being over an hour late. Normally I would flip my shit over this since I hate people being late but I figured it wasn't a big deal since she actually had reciprocal feelings for me.

To make a long story short, Wilmington was fantastic. We had a fun night on the town. I haven't felt this way about someone in a very long time. Hopefully this will amount to something.

She's coming to Florence to hang out with me this weekend. I'm very excited. We're going to go to Lynches River Park and probably watch movies. It's going to be low key but I think it will be good. For once, the optimist in me is defeating the pessimist. Let's hope it stays that way.

Enough about my love life.

I'm excited to be coming home next week for Thanksgiving and the GA Tech game. I haven't seen my Athens friends in over a month and I miss them. It will be nice hanging with them. Hopefully I'll get a ticket for the game. Also, I can't wait for Chicago. I've been anticipating the trip for quite some time. It will be exciting riding in a conversion van with all of my old college buddies all the way to Chicago. Plus, it'll be my first time going to Illinois. I'll be able to mark one more state off the list.

Good Fortunes in Red Stick

All the pundits and all my friends can go ahead with the "I told you so's". I never predicted Georgia to go to Baton Rouge and beat LSU the way they did. I expected a loss.

The game started out well. Darryl Gamble had a pick six on the first play from scrimmage. He bookended the scoring with another pick six in the fourth quarter. Knowsh and Fats Stafford both played exceptionally well. I hope this level of play translates into another exciting game next week in Jacksonville. I always hate how that game has huge billing before each season starts. But every year it has huge implications for both teams. I know Florida hasn't forgotten the endzone celebration from last year. In Urban Meyer's new biography (which is at the top of my reading list) he says, "It was a bad deal. It will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. We'll handle it and it's going to be a big deal." I wasn't a fan of the celebration. But sometimes you have to do something to spark your team. I also love how Urban Meyer refers to Urban Meyer in the third person. What a douche.

Yes, I'm a naysayer. But I love it when the Dawgs prove me wrong and play up to their level. Hopefully it carries over to to the Cocktail Party. To all my friends who are going: Cheer extra for me!

Upgrading my wardrobe

I received my new kicks in the mail yesterday. I was surprised at how fast they were delivered. I bought them on Thursday and got them on Friday. Awesome!

I also bought some jeans at Old Navy. Of all the jeans I've worn, theirs are the most comfortable.

The First Chapter

So I've decided to start a blog. Hopefully it won't become a futile exercise. I also hope it won't be too drab.

It's raining today but luckily I was able to finish a non-forest plot I had outside of Nichols before it started. The plot fell in this soybean field and afterwords it left a bad taste in my mouth. The crop was not harvested. It was just left to rot. This incenses me. I guess the farmer was given a subsidy by the government to not harvest his crop. I don't know enough about subsidies to go into a full tirade but I think that there is a better use for the land. If that farmer is not going to harvest his/her crops on that field, than why not plant trees instead? He could enter into the Conservation Reserve Program and get subsidies through it. Carbon sequestration markets are becoming en vogue. He could do that and also be helping to clean up the atmosphere.

You see, as plants grow, they produce glucose through photosynthesis. They take carbon dioxide and make sugar. The by-products are oxygen and water. As trees continue to grow and add volume, that sugar is stored in the cells of the tree. The carbon that was used to make sugar is taken out of the atmosphere and stored as biomass. New laws are being passed that would provide tax credits and subsidies for those who decide to plant trees for carbon sequestration. In turn, they promise not to harvest the trees for pulp or timber or whatever else. The farmer could also earn extra income through hunting leases. I know that this market is years away from taking off but I hope that it will and that more land being used for idle crop production will revert back to forest. One can only hope.

It's surprisingly quiet at the library today. Usually phones are going off or people are talking above a whisper. Not today. Maybe the rain has dampened everyone's spirits.

I'm nervous about the UGA/LSU game tomorrow. I don't think that the Dawgs will win. Baton Rouge is a tough place to play and the Dawgs are very bi-polar. If they don't win then any championship implications can be forgotten. With Florida looming in the foreground it will be tough for the Dawgs to win the SEC East if they lose to LSU and Florida. Let's hope for a better outcome.