RYAN FINALLY JOINED FLICKR!

Welcome, Ryan!, originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

Now you can check out some of his great photos! Take a look - and don't forget to leave him a comment to let him know you stopped by.

ROWANOAK

Originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

While Ryan and I were in Oxford, we stopped by Faulkner's homeplace, Rowan Oak. It killed some time before the shows started, and it gave Ryan a chance to try out his new lens on the Nikon. Not often I get to play the role of model. They are nice enough headshots that I've posted a few to my flickr account. Now I'll have to practice and return the favor sometime this year. I'm hoping some of Ryan's talent will rub off on me.

THE STING

Szerszeń of Death
Originally uploaded by Jacek Becela

I had fun working the concession stand at South MS Speedway, and it looks like Terry and JoEllen and the rest of the team now have enough money for their 2 weeks in Africa.

Getting ready for bed later that night, I noticed a couple of strange bites on my leg. At first, I was worried the bites might be from a Brown Recluse Spider. To my relief, after checking on the web, I think they are from a hornet or bee. I'm surprised that I didn't feel anything earlier. I guess that means I'm not terribly allergic to whatever it is that stung me...

Before we got to the Speedway, my friend Alyssa and I stopped at a convenience store to buy Powerades. We were talking about recent TV shows that we like. She mentioned that she's a fan of Kyle XY. I asked her if she'd heard about Traveler. From across the store, a guy called out, "GREAT SHOW! That's a fantastic show!" I guess I'm not alone in being a fan of the new series. Have you caught an episode? My niece had the first couple episodes saved on her Tivo, and we watched them together on my last visit to her place. Now, I'll have to check and see if it's on iTunes, since I'll bet I've missed at least one broadcast. Ryan and I have been watching the DVD's of the first season of Lost. He's never seen the show before, and I never caught the first season. I'm impressed with the amount of irony and foreshadowing. Hats off to J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof!

Ryan and I are finally getting his flickr account up and running. Here's the link to his profile.

Don't have your flickr account set up? It's my favorite networking site, and it's free to join. Hope to see you there.

NEWS

Siamese on the wicker chair, 1957, originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

A couple of my old photos were featured on the official flickr blog. What a fun surprise! Kudos to my dad for taking this outstanding photo of a Siamese. I wish I had more of his old photos to share.

I've rejoined the ranks of typical Americans, as I finally have a cell phone again. I decided to go with an ATT GoPhone until I can figure out which company to choose when I buckle down and sign a contract. The new phone just has $50 on it; we'll see how long that lasts. Hopefully I won't have to add any dough to the phone until my paychecks start in September. Oh, and I got a call back from OS and they offered me a different job. Can't forget to mention that good news.

Tonight I'm working the snack bar at the local race track. A couple of my friends, JoEllen and Terry, are going on a mission trip to Africa and the proceeds tonight will help fund their trip. It's a good cause, and I'm allowed all the popcorn, cokes, and hot dogs I want. (-which will be absolutely none, but that's beside the point).

I'm almost 100% moved into Ryan's house. (How did I accumulate so much junk?!) I got rid of 2/3 of my clothing - no other way to fit my mega wardrobe into my new junior-sized closet - and I don't have the budget for a storage unit. Purging so much meant some hard choices, but I think it will work out for the best. There are just a couple of boxes left to move down that I'll pick up Tuesday when I drive up to be with my Dad during his cataract surgery.

The first half of the surgery (last Tuesday) went well, and I'm expecting no problems again this week. Thanks to all of you who've been praying for him.

Ryan and I returned from Oxford yesterday. We drove up last Wednesday for the University's annual Shakespeare Festival. We saw some of his college friends for brunch at a dive called The Beacon and enjoyed performances of As You Like It and The Mikado. We also had dinner with a couple of my college friends, Sam and Emily, at an Italian place on the Square called Old Venice. On the way home, we had lunch at Haute Pig in Madison. It's great BBQ, if you ever have the chance to eat there, I recommend it!

I'm finding out that Ryan is a very patient roommate, as he's hardly griped about my moving in early on such short notice, and he didn't give me a hard time when I locked his keys in the car this week.

Rick and Erinne came over last night and we cooked dinner, watched Star Trek DVDs and ate organic ice cream and Godiva brownies. We also listened to some old tracks that I haven't played much since high school - and laughed at how much pop music has changed. I've missed our monthly geek-fests. Nice to see we are resuming the tradition.

I'm off to the races...

FOR SALE

Body Parts, originally uploaded by Jake Slagle.

Well, since the teaching gig didn't pan out, maybe I should do this for a living.

UPDATE...THE SEQUAL

Pavement is not grey!
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net.

I found out today that I didn't get the job. I'm going to spend the rest of the weekend feeling sorry for myself and then go out Monday morning and hit the pavement - looking for work, that is. Not throwing myself off a building...want to be clear about that.