• Woke up at 4:45 AM because I had a dream about all the people in the world that I feel like do not like me. It was odd. I'm not usually so insecure.
• Went back to sleep briefly, but got out of bed sometime between 5 and 6 AM.
• Played on the computer for awhile. I may have assaulted Facebook.
• Called Juliet, and we chatted for the first time in over a week. This was actually the social highlight of my day.
• I took a shower, but on an empty stomach. After 20 minutes, I felt faint and thought I was going to die.
• I dried off and then devoured two pieces of leftover pizza.
• I filled out paperwork for about two hours.
• I took a long walk through my neighborhood, exploring all of the stores. I spoke to everyone I encountered, but no one cared to engage me in conversation.
• I worked out for a little bit of time, and then discovered that Michael Jackson died.
• I was shocked that so many people were shocked and moved. I had heard that he was near death months ago, and I didn't think people would still care.
• I cleaned the house, washed dishes, and took out the garbage.
• I watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. The smartest contestant on Jeopardy lost in a fluke at the end. This little gay dude on Wheel of Fortune mopped the floor with the competition.
• I walked to Barney's Gourmet Burgers and grabbed us some dinner.

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SirTweetsAlot  @ LenoreTheCat  You couldn't catch me if you tried, fat ass.





HolyCow   @ SirTweetsAlot I think @ LenoreTheCat is lean and trim!





SirTweetsAlot   @ HolyCow  Of course you do! You're a fucking cow!





LenoreTheCat   @ SirTweetsAlot  Dude, That's kind of harsh! Meow!






SirTweetsAlot   @ LenoreTheCat  Pussy!





HolyCow   @ SirTweetsAlot  Moo you, Shrew!

Yes, I’m back from the dead. I know it’s been my longest MIA stretch on LiveJournal in quite some time, but I did have my reasons. I’ve been on an internet privacy kick right now. I’m amazed at how the world of personal networks has spun out of control. Fortunately, the industry-leader of Facebook there still is some respect for personal privacy. MySpace, Friendster, Flickr, and LinkedIn allowed a third-party (Delver.com) to steal and compile all of my personal information. Not only did Delver compile all of my personal network info on a single page, but they took the time to attach documents from my employer’s web site. The most frustrating part of it is that I do not have the power to ask Delver to remove the page. They claim that they might allow users to have that capability at some point in the future. Although, there is nothing on this web page that I am embarrassed by, I find it appalling that this can happen without my permission. As a consequence, I have removed my accounts with MySpace, Friendster, and LinkedIn. Flickr (who I actually PAY for an account), I have decided to keep and will just deal with the fact that all of my pictures now need to be marked private. I guess the world of internet obscurity is rapidly vanishing.

Now on to the big news that everyone probably already knows… I’m moving to San Francisco. Dan matched there for residency, and I am going too. It’s an exciting notion that my life will be completely different in just a few short months. Tim is very excited, but I have to be too careful not to impose or rely too heavily on him. He's been there for years, and I need to find my own way. Still, it will be nice to have dinner and coffee with him on a regular basis. I’m also really excited about conquering the city myself. Every free weekend that I have will be spent exploring a new part of the city. I’ve also started investigating the surround area. My first road trip is going to be in Mono County. I’ve been fascinated by the tufa at Mono Lake for awhile now. I think it’ll make for a fun August weekend trip, but hopefully I won’t be going it alone, since Dan’s schedule will be out of control and I really only personally know four people that live there.

The plan is still up in the air, but I will be leaving North Carolina between May 26^th and June 26^th of this year. The deciding factor is my search for employment. So far, the search has been fruitless. I began filling out applications on March 1^st. I have now applied for 11 jobs, and have been rejected by five. I have also started sending out my resume to private firms, with very little success. It seems there are three types of jobs out there: Jobs that I am vastly unqualified for, Jobs that I am vastly overqualified for, and jobs that are incredibly specific to one area of urban planning (i.e. affordable housing or environmental). Although I’ll take what I can get, I’m not really a “specialist” planner. I’ve always been focused on current planning operations like zoning. Those jobs just aren’t out there for some reason. There are two noteworthy rejections that I have gotten so far. One was a job I had applied for at 11 A.M. on Tuesday, they sent me rejection by 2 P.M. on the same day. It took approximately three hours for them to decide that I am a loser, and type a rejection response to me. Nice! The second was a job that had been open for almost two years. They rejected me because the job required three years of experience in environmental plan review, and I had three years of experience in zoning plan review. Since the job has been posted for two years, I would think they would rather just get someone in the job that is close to the qualifications, than have the job remain vacant. I mean by the time they find someone qualified, I could have gotten the job and worked there long enough to get the experience that they are looking for. (Sigh), something will happen in time, I guess.

As for the impending move, I’ve got a lot to do in a little time. I’m proceeding with things as though I plan on leaving May 26^th. Last weekend, I had Marcie & Margaret come into town and visit. I had set this week aside for potential job interviews, but I received no calls. Next weekend I’m going to Charlotte to spend time with Joe Dan, and have an early birthday celebration for him. Amity and I are going on our county road trips the following weekend. We’ll be hitting up Bertie and Bladen Counties. Our plan is to also hit up Brunswick County, but I am going to wait and see if that is possible to fit into the schedule. On the weekend of April 25^th, I’ll be visiting Greenville and Creswell. The schedule is really tight, because I have a lot of people to see in a little period of time. During the weekend of May 2^nd, we’ll be in San Francisco on an apartment hunt. I’m also hoping the week before and after could be a great spot for some job interviews, assuming someone actually wants to talk to me. Dan graduates (Oprah, included) and Jacqui visits town on the weekend of May 9^th.  May 16^th is the weekend for going-away festivities. I’m trying to think of ideas for throwing one giant going-away bash, but with not knowing my actual departure date, it does complicate things. I’m sure Dan will want to have a going-away party before he leaves, but if I’m not leaving until June it makes May 16^th seem a bit premature for me. We’ll see. After that, I’m packing and hopefully leaving the Wednesday after Memorial Day.

One of the benefits of leaving in May is that Dan and I will get to go cross-country together. We have already plotted out a potential route, and it’s exciting to think about. The plan I’ve come up with would have the following route:

• May 28^th - Durham, NC to Louisville, KY – Includes a stop at Pilot Mountain State Park in NC (one of my favorite NC landmarks, and a great place to say farewell) and the West Virginia and Kentucky State Capitol Buildings.

• May 29^th – Louisville, KY to Kansas City, KS – Includes a stop at Lincoln’s Boyhood Home in Indiana and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. We’ll probably also cross the border into Kansas for the night, just to add another state that we haven’t been to yet.

• May 30^th – Kansas City, KS to Denver, CO – From Kansas City we are actually considering to go north into Iowa and take Nebraska into Denver. It’s longer, but we’ve heard that Nebraska is a much prettier drive than Kansas. We may play this one by ear, adn see how we feel.

• May 31^st – Denver, CO to Moab, UT – This day is going to be awesome, because we’ll be driving across the Rockies. The two main stops are Colorado National Monument and Arches National Park. I'd also like to visit Vail.

• June 1^st – Moab, UT to Elko, NV – The trip will take us through Salt Lake City, where we will probably check out the State Capitol and the Mormon Tabernacle. The Great Salt Lake is also somewhere I want to see, as well as a Horizon Viewpoint in northeastern Nevada.

• June 2^nd – Elko, NV to San Francisco, CA – The final push will take by Reno and Sacramento and then into the city.

6 days, 44 hours, and 14 states – It should be fun.

As I mentioned before, Marcie and Margaret came to visit last weekend. It was a short, but very sweet visit from them. I organized a pub crawl, which was a little less crawl-like than I had intended, but it was still fun. I’m really grateful for those of you who did show up. I had a very fun night, and it’s nice to get everyone together. In all, I think there were 20-25 people who came. Marcie came up Friday night and she and I went out to dinner at Rockwood Filling Station. I took her to play disc golf on Saturday morning, and we grabbed lunch at the Thai Café. Then we headed over to the NC Museum of Art, which was disappointing, because half of the museum is under renovation and inaccessible. Margaret and Jason came on Saturday evening. On hangover Sunday, we grabbed brunch at Honey’s, and then took a stroll through the Duke Gardens. It was a nice farewell treat to spend some time with them.

Today, I finally finished a book that I have been reading for the past few months, “When A Crocodile Eats the Sun” by Peter Godwin. I had purchased the book while in DC last October. At the time of my purchase, I thought the book was about the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe, and since I am a Geography-major that has a real passion for African politics – I thought it could be a great decision. The book turned out to be about something deeper than the turmoil in Harare. The story of Robert Mugabe’s greed for power and the chaos that it has created for Zimbabweans is a huge part of the story, but by the ending I realized is only the setting. No, the real story line here is about something that parallels my own life, and in the end I felt even more personally connected to the book. Godwin tells the story of his strained relationship with a father that is stubborn and hesitant to praise. The relationship between the two men evolves throughout the chronology of the story, despite the fact that life takes Peter geographically farther away from his parents. Godwin’s father, George, becomes less stubborn and more appreciative with age. Peter himself, realizes his own parents mortality amidst the chaos of their environment, In addition, Peter learns of his father’s secretive past and manages to put many of his father’s actions into a new perspective. By the time of his father’s death, Peter and George have forged bond that is rooted in sincerity and admiration.

Now I will begin my next book, which I purchased last month. The book is called “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World” by Tracy Kidder. From what I have heard, the story is about a doctor that travels the globe to extend hope to many people that have little. I’m sure that reviews will follow.

Finally, just a little bit of bragging! I know it is Final Four weekend, but my mind is on baseball! Why, you ask? As of last night, East Carolina has the 4^th best record in college baseball, and is currently ranked #16 in the polls. Not to mention a 14-4 drubbing of N.C. State in Raleigh on Wednesday night! Go Pirates! Here’s the list of best records in NCAA Baseball as of April 03, 2009:

That is all for now, thanks for reading!