Marshall

Downtown Marshall

I arrived in Marshall safely. It's wonderful to see Jimmy and Erin again as well as their two son's Iris and Mezmer and their new daughter, Pinatuba.

Jimmy's expression say's it all about my arrival. (mobile phone image)

Erin, Pinatuba and Mezmer.

Iris running circles around me.

After settling in we went over to the island that sits in the French Broad River and visited the farmers market. We talked with friends and local farmers and purchased some food stuffs for our evening meal. We also purchase a bunch of beautiful flowers.





Later Erin made a wonderful meal. We sat around and talked about things and just got caught up on our lives. We ended the evening lying out on the deck counting planets and shooting stars. Iris and I kept count on the satellites and alien spacecraft and watched out for fiery bird poop falling from the sky. You know, from the occasional passing phoenix.

Mountains

The drive from Chapel Hill to Asheville takes about four hours. Then it's roughly another 25 minutes to Marshall. Driving on I-40 and seeing the mountains begin to rise on the horizon is very exciting to me. I start to feel my soul lift because I am returning to my element.

It's been almost ten years since I lived in Asheville... and I still miss it.

Good Friends

David and Emma

I arrived in North Carolina safely yesterday. Emma and David were happy to see me as I them. We went out last night to the opening of the Eccentrik Festival art exhibit in Raleigh. It was fun. We drank wine and ate cheese. You know, the normal stuff at a gallery opening.

At the gallery opening.

Then we ended up at a nightclub called Flex. It’s full of big burly gay men. I was fresh meat, but Emma protected me. When we arrived the music was really good, but then about and hour and a half later… it sucked so we went to the Hibernian for food.

This is a mirror picture. That is to say the picture is taken of us in a mirror at Flex.

The Sarah look.

David and Emma at the Hibernian eating some kind of meat covered home fries.

Kara, Joe, Sarah and Mike at the Hibernian.

Me and Kara. For some reason she is clutching Emma's purse real scary like.

Sarah and cute Mike. ;)

Today Emma had a radio interview at NC State University. I went along to the studio and laughed at her. ;) The rest of the day we hung out with her friend Leech and ate Mexican.

Emma, Leech and myself speeding down I-40.

This evening we are laying low because Emma has a migraine and I have to be up early in the morning. I have decided to head up to the Asheville area and visit with my friends Jimmy and Erin.

Road Trip

I’ve been feeling slightly "postal" these days so I am getting away from here for a little while. I’m heading to my beloved North Carolina. I’ll be visiting with my good friends Emma and David in Chapel Hill for a couple days. We will have great fun.


I’m certain the paparazzi will hunt Emma and myself down like before!

Wonderful Art

I met with Scott Griffin today. He's a fantastic painter. His paintings are of mix media. He uses photography, oil paint and resin, building layers and dimensions within the painting. I am using real art for the sales office and model home at Hidden Pointe Town homes. I think it's important to support local artists.

We were at college together around the same time, but never hung out or knew one another. We both agree we remember seeing one another during that time because of the familiarity. He seems like a nice guy. Anyway here are some examples of his work. If you have the time check out his web site.

Lifescape No.26

Lifescape No.30

Photo of The Moment

Today while at the Gallery a wedding reception was happening next door. Then the newly weds arrived... on the back end of a fire engine.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan

I found this neat site where you can create animated avatars of yourself. It's called Meez.com. I practice T'ai Chi Ch'uan, a form of martial arts, which promotes health and longevity. It's also great in managing stress as well as bringing balance into ones own life.

Anyhow I decided to create my animated avatar based on this. You may also select various backgrounds. I chose a painting by Van Gogh.



I just realised when posting your Meez image the animation is shortened due to the size of the file. When I chose the T'ai Chi animation it looked like I was doing a strange dance. So I changed my selection to a Wushu animation, which has similar moves to T'ai Chi. Wushua is type of martial arts that focuses on self-defense. T'ai Chi is the path of least resistance, but when force is applied it too becomes a method of self-defense.

However it now looks like I am doing the Safety Dance! Oh well, you can dance if you want to ...

* 1 October. Apparently when you go into Meez.com and make changes to your animation it changes the original so that is why I no longer have a Van Gogh background.

Inner Geek

Well this morning I am channeling my inner geek. See how this image captures my geekiness? We moved out of the BOC (Box of Chaos) and into our new sales office, the UFH (Unit From Hell). Actually calling it that is not fair because the space is very nice and a definite improvement upon the BOC. There are some issues which need to be worked out such as the cabinets are still a mess and the second bedroom has no power and I have run an extension cord down the hall to run the computers and such.

However it is a wonderful place. I mean it's a house. We have space AND most of all we have working TOILETS! Right now I am trying to get the computer systems hooked up. After this I will then get to the decorating. Yay!

The weather is actually cool this morning. Currently it’s 68 degrees and we will have a high of 85. Finally cooler weather! Well I guess I better get back to work, but first I need to run to Starbucks and deal with the Starbitch.

Starbucks & the Starbitch

I have been frequenting the Starbucks in the Kroger out by the Savannah Mall lately because I am often at the construction site, which is right next to it. Generally I won’t frequent such a place because I prefer independently own stores such as Gallery Espresso, but when I need a fix, I need a fix.

There is a new barista at this location that has taken it to a whole new level with me. She is now known as the Starbitch of Starbucks. She really yanks my chain. This is the second time she has rubbed me the wrong way.

What did she do you ask? Well, I always get iced soy mocha without whipped cream and she always refuses to stir the damn thing. I asked her why she doesn’t stir it and she told me it was corporate policy! WTF?

Okay everyone else stirs it for me. Heck when I go to the Gallery they stir it, and pour it into another cup twice so all that chocolaty goodness is mixed quite well.

Starbitch tells me that the chocolate and coffee is supposed to sit at the bottom of the cup and the milk on top. I said this is ridiculous. It’s supposed to be a mixed coffee drink. She went on to tell me (with attitude) she had worked in a Starbucks in two other locations and this is the way they were told to do it.

I asked her to stir it anyway and she told me it would be easier if I stir it with my straw and handed it me my cup! WTF? What kind of customer service is this?

Clear The Air

Today I received a somewhat annoying post to an earlier post of mine, entitled People (Part 2) accusing me of being an angry person. I originally responded to this person within that post, but I got to thinking I need to explain myself better and add a couple things and re-post it here for all to see.

This person goes by “Anonymous”. Here is their reactionary post to my rant.

“Even though someone did arrive, you still condemn them.

Did they arrive casually, seemingly upset that there was an argument over jurisdiction, or did have concern?


Ever look at the times the police were dispatched, or just simply cast a stone because you were upset? CAD records are available under the Open Records Act.


Call the MPC, you'll find out that the roadway is Metro responsibility, and the car dealership is Thunderbolt's. It has been that way for YEARS.


Who showed up first though?


I think you would have condemned ANYONE who showed up because you were angry to start with.”

Dear Anonymous,
I don’t think I condemned anyone. It was merely an observation as to when the police arrived. No, I don’t think I need to telephone the MPC or look into CAD records because I was there as were two others involved in the accident.

I was not the only one to say it took the police some time to arrive. In fact the two young men that were in the accident with me commented the same thing as did the individuals in the dealership.

As far as the roadway being the responsibility of Metro and the dealership Thunderbolt this really means nothing to me. There isn’t a sign on the roadway. “In case of accident on Victory Drive please call Metro, but if it happens in the car park, please call Thunderbolt”. I am certain it probably has been this way for YEARS and there probably is some logical reason for it, but I am a civilian and would not know this. It’s not in the driver manual!

As far as me being angry at the situation this is further from the truth. I am someone who rarely gets angry. I do tend to get annoyed easily and fed up easily. Perhaps it’s a character flaw. I try to be aware of it and quite often I am critical of myself because of it. Ask anyone who knows me and they will say I am rather easy going. Sometimes it has been said too easy going. In certain situations they have been amazed I don’t get angry when they would have. I tell them I just don’t see the point and I rather not waste my energy. Anger leads to disease and shortens the life span. I certainly don’t want any part of it.

The family members of the two who were in the accident stated to me they were grateful I was so calm. I basically said accidents happen and I am happy everyone is okay. Perhaps it may have seemed I was angry in my posting. I was recently rear-ended and was without my car for some time. I envisioned having to go through the whole process again and I was also on my way to an important client. 

Again there was no real anger. I stood there chatting, joking and laughing with the other two guys in the accident. One guy was nervous and not sure how to go about things. I helped him out. I joked with their families while we waited for things to finish up. An angry person would not have done this.

If you actually took the time to read anything in my blog you will be hard pressed to find signs of real anger.

Your response makes me think you may be an officer or perhaps related to one or just well versed in obscure police jurisdiction information. In all honesty when the officers did arrive they were quite nice and helpful and I mean both Thunderbolt and Metro officers. AND for the record it was Thunderbolt who arrived first. (I think this is what you really want me to clarify) They did their job professionally and I am grateful.

Life happens. We move on and I certainly have.

Morning Drive

Driving out to the site seems like it takes forever, but in reality it's only 15 minutes. I guess it's the drive on the Veterans Parkway that make it seem this way. It cuts through the marshes so there is nothing around. It's nice to see open spaces like this in city limits. Sometimes you can see an alligator or wild boar frolicking about. (Actually wild boar frolick and alligators just kind of sit there.)

It makes for a relatively peaceful journey, though I still think downtown is much better.

This image was taken on this crazy bridge that goes out over the marsh and practically corkscrews back around onto highway 80. Sometimes people tend to drive too fast on the extreme turn and flip over.

OH.MY.GOD!

"The Love Machine"

Chaos

Things are a little chaotic right now. We are finally nearing completion of Unit #14 which will be our sales office. However there are some things, which still need to be completed before we may move in and I have some issues. Such as the kitchen!

Here the backsplash is being installed. It should have been done last week.

Oh look! The refrigerator is too short and where the hell is the stainless steel panels. Oh and while I'm at it why is my double oven laying on the floor in the breakfast area and not installed in the wall? AND don't get me started on the cabinets. They look like crap!

Wait is that furniture delivery? OH.MY.GOD.

Quick clean the floors! They were filthy. The plaster and dry wall dust got through the paper covering the floors and then ground in. On top of all this the painter’s tape that was used to keep the paper down has stained the floor. The floors may need to be replaced!

My wonderful dinning room selection. WHAT THE HELL! Why is there a toilet in my dining room? Oh I see it's for convenience and extra seating.

There is no electric, no A/C and no running water as of yet. I'm losing my mind and I need a drink!

Goal Achieved

I am happy to report I have reached my goal of returning to a size 32 waist! I have not been in a size 32 since 1993. Woo! My diet and exercise has been paying off.

I just treated myself to two new pairs of trousers in celebration. It’s the simple things that make me happy. ☺

People! (part 3)

Yet again my theory that people suck has been reinforced. I was just sitting in traffic on DeRenne Avenue on my return from North Jacksonville, aka Southside Savannah. I'm minding my own business waiting patiently for the light to turn green when out of nowhere three young heathens hurl a large cup of coffee at my car from the side of the road!

As I was reaching for my gun to shoot them they ran off. Bastards!

People! (part 2)

Last night after several cups of Chamomile mint and Kava tea I finally chilled out from the day’s events. I got to thinking that people really SUCK! Yes, it is true.

It dawned on me that not one person stopped to see if we were all right from the accident! It was a three-car pile-up and there were plenty of witnesses, but they all pulled out from behind us and drove off. How rude and if I dare say, illegal. The idea that the South is full of polite people is just as myth. We can be just as inconsiderate, rude and selfish as any Yankee or anyone from anywhere else for that matter.

After the accident we pulled our cars off the road into a car dealership parking lot. This process took a little time because people were being inconsiderate and would not let us move our cars to free up the road. They kept driving on by gawking. Once we got into the parking lot the owner came out and asked if everyone was okay and mentioned he called the police. I thought this was nice. At least someone cared, but then he tried to sell us new cars! I'm totally serious.

A half hour later the Thunderbolt police arrived with sirens blaring. A half hour later! The officer jumps out of his cruiser and says; "Is everyone alright?" We all looked at him in disbelief. I said to someone if there were injuries we would be dead by now. It took a half hour for them to arrive because the two police stations were arguing over who had the jurisdiction. Savannah or Thunderbolt?

The dealership address states it's in Thunderbolt. Duh!

People!

I have had too many car accidents in my 40 years of life upon this earth plane. I have had enough! In all these years not one has been my fault, not one have I been held accountable for. I have a perfect driving record and it has been said by someone that I drive like an old woman. Frankly I don't find this fair since many old women here in Savannah drive horribly and for that matter so does this certain 40 something year old living in Ardsley Park. (Oh!)

Yet again I'm rear ended (y'all, need to bite your tongue) in traffic, which wasn't even moving! This is always the case, I'm usually not even moving. People just seem to see me and hurl their vehicles at me! WTF?

Stop it stop it STOP IT!

Suckety, Suck, Suck!

I'm in a mood! It looks as if I may not be able to go back to graduate school. Apparently I can't get all the funding I need. I have to try another option now, but I am not sure I'll get it. Perhaps I should consider a State school, but this means I'll have to go for an MFA. I want an MA because it will only take a year to complete and it's less money.

I guess I could look at UGA again, but if I go there I'll have to move to Athens and I would have to move my business too. I have many contacts here, which has been great for business. I would have to start all over again. Ugh!

This SUCKS!

Unexpectedly Busy

Business is rolling along. My biggest client is taking up a fair amount of my time though. As stated once before this client is a builder. I have a contract with them to decorate their model home. The only problem is it's taking a very long time to complete construction on the model. There have been some "issues" which I really can't write about, but needless to say it's holding everything up. In the mean time I don't get paid for the contract.

Things aren't too bad though because in the interim they had hired me in as a part-time "designer" for their spec houses and some design related office work. I am learning a lot and there has been so much to do that it's becoming more then part-time. So all in all it's working out.

Currently I am designing a new website for my business because the current one is rather boring and uninformative. I originally threw the damn thing together rather quickly so I would have something out there, but it's time for something more professional.

On top of all this I am working on getting together a new portfolio. Some of you know this from conversation, but for you that don't I have decided to return to graduate school to finish my master’s degree. It's been a very long time since I originally began my masters and quit in disillusionment. Now I am returning to classes at age 40 and I think I finally have my head on straight, figuratively speaking that is.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Painting and a minor in Art History, Graphic Design and Photography. Yes, that many minors. I took 10 years to get my bachelors!

Do I paint anymore? No. Do I dabble in graphic design? Not really, but perhaps a little web design is related to that. Do I still photograph? Sure I do, but not in the manner I was trained.

What career do I have? I'm an Interior Decorator. Yes, I know ... how gay. I finally embraced what I enjoy doing and have enjoyed for most of my life. Many, many moons ago I almost went for a degree in Interior Design, but I decided against it for what I perceived as too linear and ridged a degree for such a free flowing individual, such as myself. ;) I am more concerned with the decorating aspects then the drafting. You see I really don't like drawing straight lines. I always looked at Interior Design as "Architecture Light", but I have decided to bite the bullet and return to graduate school for my masters in Interior Design.

I have to make certain this new portfolio is brilliant because I would like to avoid as many prerequisite classes as possible. Since my bachelors degree is in a completely unrelated field I need to show I understand the basics in Interior Design such as elevations, electrical drawings, terminology and the like.

I think I will be okay. My business is related and I have a certain process I go through in every project, which is similar to that of an Interior Designer. I have a tremendous amount of resources at my fingertips via the builder I work with. They are excited for me and said they would help me out. So why not? In the end I'll be able to expand my business.

So here I am unexpectedly busy!

A Good Weekend

The above image of Jeremy pretty much sums up this weekend. It was a good time had by all! I am finally over the funk and thank you everyone for the kind words of support during the past week and a half.

We went to Lu Lu's Chocolate bar and met up with friends. I was feeling so good I ended up having three chocolate martinis!

Afterwards we went to Venus De Milo for a change of atmosphere where I had another martini. Then we decided to head over to Club One where for some reason I had a gin and tonic. Then we got a wild hair and decided to drive out to Tybee Island.

On the way there we stopped at the Huddle House on Whitemarsh Island and consumed mass quantities of food. I don't normally frequent such places because it's not the most vegetarian friendly environment, but I was happy to get something in my stomach.

Then we headed to Tybee. We pulled into North beach and found a wonderful spot to sit and watched the ships that were lined up to enter the Savannah River. The stars were really beautiful too and we got to see several shooting stars. We spent a fair amount of time talking and just having a really good time.

I eventually crawled into bed at 5:15 AM!