A Much-Needed Update

Wow, it's been a really long time since my last update. There haven't really been any major happenings, which is why I think I've let it slide. So here are some highlights from the last couple months, such as they are.

In Mid-July, Kelly, Julie and the kids came down for a few days to visit. We started off going to the Georgia Aquarium, which was pretty cool. Then we spent a nine-hour day at Six Flags, which was super fun. The Goliath is easily my new favorite coaster (sorry, Cedar Point). We also went to dinner one night at Dave and Buster's, which is still just as much fun for the big kids. Despite some brief, sketchy weather, it was a great time and we're looking forward to doing it again.

Let's see, what else. I had a really good six-month review at Cool Blue, and things are going really well there. I also moved offices yet again. I've taken Murray to work twice, with mixed success. The first time, she was the only dog there and it went fairly well. She behaved better than I'd expected, actually. The second time, there were two other dogs there, and it went bad within the first two minutes. My biggest regret with her is that we never got her accustomed to being around other dogs. She just starts acting a fool. I'm optimistic that she can still be taught how to behave with fellow canines. We'll see.

I'm still doing some freelance work, but I'm trying to get all client work wrapped up so I can concentrate on some of my own projects. I've already started rebuilding my main software application, so I'm hoping to spend more time on that. The on-the-side client work is nice for the extra money, but it's usually a total pain. I'll still take things occasionally if it's a good match, but frankly, I've got to have a real compelling reason to take anything these days. By the time I get off at 5, get home by 6 or 6:30, take the dog out and have dinner, I'm usually in no mood to do more work. But that doesn't keep me from feeling guilty about not doing it. But I'm working on that.

I am trying to participate more in the developer community here in Atlanta. The guys from Atlanta PHP are great and I think I'm getting a lot out of it. I'm even working on the new Atlanta PHP logo, and I might be starting a video podcast with one of the guys.

The apartment is still a work in progress. We actually got a lot done in preparation for Kelly's visit, like hanging a bunch of photos and shelves, etc. I think we've decided to sign another year's lease, as we still have some things to take care of financially and start building some savings. The plan right now is to keep renting until we can make a dent on a townhouse. I'm not totally opposed to owning again, but it has to be in a managed community. My motto is I'm not fixing anything, and I'm not mowing anything. So if we can get a condo or townhouse that is in a gated community with a pool and some kind of maintenance plan, that would be ideal. But for right now, we're perfectly happy where we are.

Mom and Parke will be coming down for a few days in October, so we're hoping to have some walls painted and other things done by then. Nothing motivates like having company :)

All the animals are doing well. Atticus was at the vet a few times for a problem with his eye. It was really cloudy looking. Luckily it wasn't serious, and a couple weeks of shoving antibiotics down his throat seems to have cleared it up. For some reason, Salem has turned into this giant puffball. She's easily ten-inches across now. That's not extra weight, it's fur. We've had to vacuum several times a week from all her tumbleweeds she leaves on the carpet. Cats...can't live with 'em, can't shave 'em.

I've officially cancelled our AT&T (was Bellsouth) land-based phone service. It just makes no sense to spend $75 a month for something we never use, and only gets calls from telemarketers. A LOT of calls from telemarketers. So we've done two things. First, we have a new number from the internet phone service called Skype. For like thirty bucks a YEAR we get our own Atlanta-based phone number that can send and receive calls to any phone number (or other Skype user). This is the phone number we're giving out to anyone that doesn't fall into the 'family or friends' category. If you do fall into those categories, you probably already got an email with our new Atlanta cell numbers. We'll be using our cells as our primary phones from now on. Oh, and not to brag or anything, but mine is an iPhone :) C'mon, you can't tell me you're surprised at that.

We've also seen a TON of movies lately. There is a site where you can sign up to see free screenings. So far we've seen three movies that way: Sunshine, Balls of Fury and Shoot 'Em Up. And for the record, the latter is now probably in my top 3 or 4 favorite action movies. It's that good.

To recap, here are the movies we've seen since moving to Atlanta, as far as I can recall: Hot Fuzz, Grindhouse, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons Movie, Spiderman 3, Transformers, Labyrinth (yes, the 80's movie), Sunshine, Balls of Fury, Shoot 'em Up and Harry Potter. That's 12 movies, that I can remember. That's more than we saw in probably two years back in Ohio. Why? Well, for me it's the experience. Here, the theatres are much nicer. Nearly all have stadium seating, and really nice screens and sound systems. And apparently, the staff actually know how to use them. Sound and projection back home was always a crapshoot. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it was just a horrible experience. And here, they play stuff at least a half hour in advance of the movie. So instead of sitting there for 30 minutes listening to music and staring at a blank screen, they play trailers and behind-the-scenes stuff. It hardly feels like you're waiting at all. Prices down here aren't much better, of course. Tickets for two are like $17, and if you want concessions, spending another $15 for two people isn't that hard. But again, it's worth it for the better experience.

We also just got back from another 4-day marathon trip to Ohio. Driving it is kind of exhausting, since out of four days, probably 20 hours are spent in the car. And even when we get there, we still seem to be driving around most of the time. Hopefully we can alternate flying up, but since we have to split time between Zanesville, Newark, Marietta and Watertown, we'd still have to rent a car or something. But flying is out the next time, as there's no way I'm going to deal with airports at Christmas.

Also, Amy, Donnie and Fred have moved to Bradenton Florida. As Brenda and I know all too well, job prospects are virtually zero in the Mid-Ohio Valley. While I'm sure everyone hated to see them go, I can totally relate to the decision. You can't stay in the same place and hope that things will get better on their own. And you certainly don't want to be wondering years from now what might have happened if you'd just taken the chance. We're definitely proof of that. So far, it sounds like things are going great. And Donnie, if you're reading this....send us some photos, man!

Wow, this has turned out to be a really long post, thats taken over two hours to write. That'll teach me to wait so long between updates. Will post more tidbits soon, as they come up.