Pithy Title Here

I just changed the settings on my computer and Blackberry so that everything is on Pacific Time. From here on out, I'm three hours behind the east coast I have long called home. In five hours, I hop on a plane and land 3,000 miles away... at home. Kinda cool, no? Sarah, Ashley and friend Jen are en route, as well, via car. I strongly suggest you follow their travails on Sarah's blog over the next few days. There will be much to report on a new city, but before that, I think it's only proper to send off Charlotte, a place I have enjoyed greatly. I've made great friends, had good times and learned a bit about what makes the South the South. So... a few things I will miss about Charlotte and some I won't (and people don't count on here. I am talking about material things...) I will miss: The trees. Charlotte is still a city of trees. Crepe Myrtles, Magnolias, Mimosas... even some palms here and there. The coniferous Northwest beckons, but there is something ab...

Dear readers, I eat lunch at home some days when I don't get the dog sitter. This is mainly to allow my dog to relieve herself. I mean, I know the feeling of being trapped in a car when nature calls. A cage must be worse. Anyhow, on Friday, when I came home for lunch, I had a postcard to mail and as I was walking out to the mailbox I saw the mailman driving up. Perfect timing. In more ways than one. Had I not been out there right then, I doubt I would have discovered (at least for another few days) the Siamese cat that was under one of my bushes. I wondered what was making all the rustling noise and I walk over to see this poor thing camping out under a shrub. Important side note: I am allergic to cats. I don't mean the dander makes me sneeze. I mean cats make my head explode into a drippy, teary mess. Some years ago, a friend's cat fell out of her arms and the cat, desperately trying to arrest its fall, grabbed onto the closest thing it could... my thigh. Where c...

I think it's important to really enjoy the place you live. It's not OK to be someplace and not enjoy what you have around you. Granted, there are people who, due to their attitude toward life and its challenges, won't be happy anywhere. Still, the missus and I were discussing how lucky we are living where we do. Charlotte on its own is a more-than-tolerable place to pass the time (and with two new music venues drawing mid-size acts, it's getting better by the day). But it also seems like the perfect place to be able to explore with ease. Consider the destinations we've hit for long weekends (and in some cases day trips): Charleston, SC - Really, it can be a day trip if you don't mind a long- ish day. And really, this is one of America's great cities. We didn't get married there for kicks. It was a place we loved and knew anyone who travelled there would adore. Palm-lined streets. Crazy history. A city that really feels like no other I've ...

Who'd've thunk it? North Carolina, a state that produces more tobacco then any other, where city names adorn cigarette packs (looking at you, here, Winston-Salem)... has banned smoking in bars and restaurants in bars effective Jan. 2, 2010 . The state senate and house have agreed on a bill and the governor will sign it into law. Me? I'm going to celebrate by wearing a wool sweater into a bar on Jan. 2, knowing I will not have to Febreeze it afterward. The truth is, though, I'll likely celebrate it by going to the bar more. I cannot tell you how many times Sarah and I have gone out someplace, thought about getting a drink, and then saying "eh, don't want to deal with the smoke." Smoking in bars, for me, has always made it so I have to be in a very specific mood to go to the bar. Because after an hour, my eyes are burning and I reek all night. And, yes, I hear all the people saying "Oh this is going to mean people won't go to bars any more....

By month's end, I guarantee I will be mowing the lawn you cannot see.

When we last saw our hero, he was finding out he owes more on his house than he's likely to get on the market. In today's episode... It started innocently enough. We decided that the old fish tank was beyond repair and needed to be replaced. So, out I went to go get a new, smaller tank (with a filter that doesn't sound like the background on a Skinny Puppy song). As we're installing this new aquarium, there's a lot of running to and fro in the house, and on one particular trip, I put my hand against the wall in our hallway and feel something give. And, there, sure enough, is a 4-inch hole in my wall. I barely even touched the damn thing. Fortunately, it's not so much a hole as the beginning of a hole. The part of the wall that would need to be absent to have a true hole in my wall is still somewhat in place. There are no signs of water damage, though, so let's count our blessings there. Now, friends, it gets interesting. I have a home warranty. I w...

Something happened in Charlotte this week: it got to be really flipping cold . Not that it never gets cold down here. Most every year, we get nights in the 20s... in February. It has rarely been this cold in Charlotte this early in the year. So cold that, tomorrow, I am going to be able to ski in North Carolina . There were snow flurries in North Charlotte yesterday morning. Normally, people down here bitch about the cold weather. Maybe it's because it's already Christmas around here, but people are loving the cold weather. That said, on a chilly walk last night, we saw that one family in the neighborhood already has Christmas lights up. I'm talking the full effect here: animatronic reindeer, light-up snowmen, trees with lights... even sign on the mailbox that says "Letter Snow." Hee . We'll see how long the cold spell really lasts... right now, it looks like for a good bit. And if gets too warm here in Charlotte, I can always look here to feel a lit...