Concerning our crazy next-door neighbors

Just now I read a great quote about the state of the news in parts of the South. It was from a July 2003 article in the Jewish World Review contributed by Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

"Arkansas is one of those privileged locales, like our neighbors Louisiana and Mississippi, where an editor's challenge is not how to juice up the news to make it interesting, but how to tone it down to make it believable."

Dispatch from Carthage #4: We're okay

You may have heard that there were tornados in southern Missouri yesterday.

I just wanted to let you know that they didn't hit us here in Carthage, so everything's okay here. But we should be praying for the families in the tornado zone who lost so much yesterday.

Ironically, it was the left armpit that was covered first

Once again, I ran out of Right Guard after applying it to only one side.

And once again, the replacement tube is a different scent than the last one.

So, once again, I will be walking around smelling two different ways, as though my armpits have multiple personalities.

Dispatch from Carthage #3: Getting my kicks on...something something?

Well, I have been here in Carthage for just over a week now, and I am still not at work. The good news is that I did have an interview at the office where Nicole works, and I will be doing some temporary work there tomorrow and Thursday. It's not much career-wise, but it gets my foot in the door, and a few coins jingling in my pocket.

In my season of unemploy, I have been Nicole's taxi limousine service to and from work (plus lunch breaks) every day, and I am really loving that. I enjoy the job of driving my fianceé anywhere she needs or wants to go, because I know that once we're both working, the opportunities could be fewer - especially if I happen to get work somewhere else. I do savor all the time that I get to spend with her, because she's my lady, and I love her.

This also means that I get the car all day long, which is not only fun (I love exploring) but practical as well, because every time I drive somewhere, I get my bearings around town a little bit more. In Portland, especially the east side, I've always been able to get my internal compass bearings, but here in Carthage, even though it's a grid, it's been surprisingly difficult at first, especially at night.

Anyway, one of the main roads Nicole and I drive to and from work is Old 66 Boulevard. I'll give you three guesses why it's called that, and the first two don't count. That's right, it used to be part of Route 66 at one point. (Not in the entire life of the Route, as it underwent countless realignments over the years.) Not even a mile away from our home is the famous 66 Drive-In, one of the dwindling number of drive-ins in America. They are closed for the season, but when I was visiting in July and August, they were in full swing, playing Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars. I had hoped that we could have seen a movie there this year, but there just wasn't time. Fortunately, they open again in April, so it would be cool to be first in line.

Last night, I finally remembered to have the camera with me as we drove along Old 66 Road to head for Joplin. And again this morning, as the low, sweet morning sun shone upon the beautiful sign and the back of the screen....

Dispatch from Carthage #2: And Powell's Books should have a brewpub

For those of you Portland Mercury-reading, PBR-drinking Portlanders out there, I just want you to know that there's good news: Apparently, Pabst Brewing supports the literary arts.


Actually, this sign is out front of a building that looks abandoned.

Sit down...relax...lean over and check the mail...

In the vein of Stuff on My Cat, where people submit photos of a specific topic to a blog, I have run across a new awesome blog - Abandoned Couches. That's right, if you see a discarded couch out by the curb, take a photo and submit it.

It looks to be a pretty new blog, so there are only a couple of pics up*. So let's get cracking people! Niche pop culture is at stake! Let's make this the next Cats in Sinks!

[Abandoned Couches was found via Totally Unauthorized, an inside-the-film-industry blog by Peggy Archer, which was found via the Next Blog button.]

*However, Totally Unauthorized features the Couch of the Day, so there are many more abandoned couches to look at there.

Dispatch from Carthage #1: My new life

As anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I am marrying my fellow blogger Nicole Davis this October 21st. The wedding is to be held in Carthage, Missouri, which is where Nicole is from. Therefore, I needed to move there in order to, you know, marry her and be her husband. (I've heard it's easier to be zero miles apart than 1,956.)

So I stored a bunch of my stuff, gave away a bunch more, and yesterday, I took the rest with me on a plane to Missouri. And that's where I am.

Since I've already made two week-long visits here this year, this trip hasn't felt different at all. I probably won't start feeling homesick for my beloved Oregon for a few weeks or so. Believe it or not, I don't even miss my friends and family yet. After all, I've only been here for 30 hours or so.

Moving away is a new experience for me, as I lived in the Portland area for all of my nearly 34 years. In many ways, Missouri isn't that much different: there are the usual signs of American civilization all around me, albeit a bit further spread apart. But I know that there will be some interesting new things to observe in my new home town, and because you already know that I like to present odd things to you here, I'll definitely be sharing these new things here on the blog. I debated whether to start a separate blog for my Dispatches from Carthage, but because I already have so many blogs, I felt I should just use my main one.

I can't tell you how detailed my Carthage-related posts will be—I imagine that sometimes they'll be short, and some will be novels—but I hope to be able to blog more about my life than I have been lately, if for no other reason than the fact that I can't hang out with my friends and family now like I used to (many of whom are reading this right now. Hi!)

So I hope you'll indulge me as I talk about learning to get used to a sales tax (Oregon has none), pumping my own gas (which, by the way, is $2.19/gallon as opposed to the $2.60-ish prices in Portland) and general life in this small, quiet Missouri town.

Frankentomato!

And no, I never did have any Japanese ska grunge polka boy-band CDs, so don't ask

I finally finished weeding through my CDs tonight. I did a lot of ripping of songs to MP3s in the process. Obviously, I can't take a huge duffel bags full of 300 CDs to Missouri, so I decided to rip the songs I thought I'd want to listen to, and either store or sell the physical discs here in Portland.

And I did pretty good, if I do say so myself. I catalogued all of the CDs that I knew I wanted tracks from, 292 discs in total. (There were a few that I didn't bother to list, because I knew that they were going straight to the "sell" shelf.) Out of those 292, I managed to weed out 120, or more than 40%. I couldn't begin to estimate what I might be able to sell the entire lot for, but it'd be cool to get at least $100 or so.

The CDs I'm keeping

The CDs I'm selling

Debating on whether to post the list of discards here. Maybe if you ask nicely.

Next tasks:

• Renewing my driver license (saves the hassle of getting a Missouri license then getting another Oregon one next year)
  
• Completing my change-of-address form
  
• Taking the insurance off of my Subaru
  
• Finding a place to store both Subarus for a year or so
  
• Weeding through (read: throwing away) my attic boxes
  
• Boxing up all of my remaining belongings
  
• Dismantling all of my dismantleable (?) furniture, and putting the rest in the driveway for my recycler roommate to haul off
  
• Securing a storage location (know anyone with 5'x5' of smoke-free basement space?)
  
• MOVING everything to storage
  
• And oh yeah, having a bachelor/going away party this Friday night (it's not gonna be crazy, no getting naked, no strip clubs, don't worry)
  

Yet another poo-related post

Thanks to Dave Barry's blog for this one. It's a product called:

Whiff

Enough said.

I'm back...sort of

I haven't blogged too much lately, I know.

I used to be good at chronicling the events of my day, my week, etc., and last week was certainly event-filled. Nicole came to visit Portland for 10 days! We saw downtown Portland, the Oregon coast, the Columbia Gorge, and the symphony. Et cetera.

Is that all I have to say? Well, sort of. See, I don't really have time to blog now, because I am busy weeding through my belongings, figuring out what to save and what to get rid of, and separating the few things I will take with me when I MOVE TO CARTHAGE, MISSOURI on Monday. By plane.

That's right, folks. I'll be taking a one-way flight in the early morning hours of September 11. Can somebody say "extensive security check"?