29 Days Later

My, 29 days without a post. If this were March 30th I'd say "28 Days Later" like the cool zombie movie.

What's happened in 29 days?

- Leslie and I are continuting to date, and I fall more and more in love with her each day (yes, it may sound cheesy but it's true)
- I'm ready to have my house to myself again. While not horrible, having a roomate is just not worth the hassle. So, I'm ready for this to be done and living single again
- My job is still there, but I don't really like it any better
- Leslie and I visited South Carolina (this will be expanded upon)
- I found out I may be able to be certified as a secondary education teacher in the state of South Carolina (this is on-going)

Let me focus on the visit Leslie and I made to South Carolina. I was perfectly comfortable taking her back with me, and wasn't nervous for her or me at all. She said she was a little nervous, but I knew she'd be fine. She far exceeded my expectations. She didn't need me to hold her hand at all, instead she just jumped right in and struck up conversations, smiled, and made friends with everyone. She's my kind of girl. She loved mom and dad, and Dawn, and all the grandparents. I'm pretty sure everyone loved her too. She liked everyone, and she really liked Paul. They got along very well and his, uniqueness, didn't phase her at all. Even though we were only really there for 2 days, we made the best and most of it (this was a great visit time wise). Friday mom and dad and Leslie and I went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and toured the home, took lots of great pictures, then went to a winery. Then we ate at Fatz and went back home. Saturday was our day in Clemson, so Paul got to hang out with us and then we spent Saturday night in downtown Greenville. Sunday it was back on a plane to Michigan, but overall it was an excellent trip and it just confirms even more why I love her so much, and the fact that my whole family and friends (most of them) knows her just makes things even better. So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

My Time Up North

I just got back from a famous Michigan "up north" weekend. That's what people here say when they go to their weekend cabins 3 hours away. It's like southeast Michigan is the metropolis and people all leave on a Friday and go north and come back on Sunday. It's sort of like going to the Jersey Shore, but in Michigan. And funner and there's not garbage.

Leslie and I left Friday evening to drive to Frederic, MI which is close to Grayling, but in reality there's nothing there but trees and snow and native northern Michiganers, which are a little scary. It was an AMAZING weekend. Friday we left her house around 6:30 and got to her aunt and uncle's cabin around 9:30. There wasn't really any snow around here, but when we got north the snow was definately there. Saturday was snowmobiling. Leslie's aunt and uncle own 2 snowmobiles, and her uncle and I went out first for a 2 hour ride.

This is how snomobiling works. You ride on the road, and on trails, but never in the open woods. There could be barb wire which has decapitated people. Then, there's random bars in the middle of the woods packed with snowmobiliers. You go inside, and it's PACKED full of them. That's the thing, you snowmobile then go to a bar, then repeat.

Later, Leslie and her uncle and I left around 6:30 to go eat dinner. So we drove the snowmobiles to a restaurant in the middle of the woods, then we snowmobiled out in the woods until 11:30. That was amazing, and probably the most romantic thing Leslie and I have done. Being in the middle of NOWHERE at 11:30 on a snowmobile flying down a trail going 60 mph with snow covered trees is HOT. It was a really, really great time. We actually stopped, and turned the snowmobiles off and it was pitch black, and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Definately one of the funnest winter things I've ever done, and being with her was great.

To make it even better, Leslie's aunt and uncle told both of us (individually) that we made a really great couple and looked very natural with one another. We always get that comment from people...that we seem to be naturals together. I love her so much!

It was an amazing weekend. I have to go to Maine this Tuesday - Friday for work so I'm sure I will do lots of updating while there, because what else is there to do in Maine?

Dusty Wood

Time to dust off the blog, and write a new post. What's it been...too long?

Instead of making up an excuse for why I haven't posted I'll just get right into it.

I have a roomate now! Paul is my new roomate, and he is in my small group at church. Paul needed a roomate because the condo he was living in had too many people, according to the condo association, so he had to find a new place to live. Which works out well for me, because I wanted to get a roomate, but didn't quite know how to really search for one. I was sort of holding off until someone I knew needed a place to live, and it all worked out.

I'm also seeing a girl now. We're dating, but we've only been on 3 dates so until we go on more I wouldn't call her a girlfriend just yet. I do know we get along really well, and that I'm attracted to her, and I'm pretty sure she's attracted to me, so it's going well. The dates are fun and she is laid back, and has a good sense of humor which I enjoy.

Work is work, not much to update there. I'm thankful I have a job now with the economy, but I am still working on getting my resume all cleaned and polished and will keep an eye open for other opportunities that may arise. Until then, I'm trying my best to go to work, do my best, and leave out all the rest.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas break, really, I am. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, friends, and a break from frigid air.

Something else is that I've been having problems with my Honda. Some observations about Honda:
- They don't like to admit when their products exhibit a problem
- They don't have good customer service (not as good as Saturn)

I told the regional manager, when he called me to talk about my problems, that one of the reasons I bought a Honda was because of the repuputation for reliability and good service, but that hasn't been my case so far (4 times to the dealership in 12,000 miles). He said "Well, Mr. Smith, that's your opinion, not a fact and I work off of facts". Ooof. I forgot, you can tell someone their feelings are opinions and not valid, because that's the right thing to say as a customer service representative. Anyway, my Honda is at the dealership overnight tonight being fixed and I have a loaner car, which I am thankful for, although it's a Nissan.

I'm off to bed now, I need sleep to finish out 4 more days of work until freedom.

Thanky G

This past Thanksgiving was one of the best I can remember, for multiple reasons (these are the things I'm thankful for):
- I suprised my family with a visit
- I went to Florida away from the snow for 4 days and saw the sun
- I didn't throw up this year from overeating like I did 2 years ago
- I watched Home Alone on TV
- I saw 2 great 80's movies - Mannequin and Karate Kid
- I finished my book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-time". It's REALLY good, especially if you like math and/or you're midly-severely autistic
- I slept on a comfortable couch
- Walter was happy to see me
- A 14 hour "welcome back" workday - I'm thankful I have a job and money since apparantly my house tax went up $1,200 for 2009. I think this is a mistake, so I need to get that figured out soon

Anyway, I'm back, and I feel refreshed, and 14 hours of work (see past posts for about 3 months of how much I hate it) can't bring me down today. Welcome home.