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September 30, 2005

Bojangles Update

No Bo today, but I did have a morning Coke at, well, McDonalds.

I suck.

Posted by Nakia at 01:29 PM | Comments (2)

Neil Gaiman at Joseph-Beths

Last Wednesday, I went to see Neil Gaiman give a talk and sign his newest book, Anansi Boys, at Joseph-Beth Sellers in Charlotte.

There was a good crowd, maybe 150 people. Many wore funny hats. Neil was pretty much what I expected -- funny, a bit dark (dressed in black jacket, shirt, and pants) and very British. He read from Anansi Boys (chapter two) and it was funny to hear him try to do Jamacian accents for some of the characters. He then answered questions for about 45 minutes. He talked about some new projects in the works, including his new series about the Eternals for Marvel. He talked about his involvment in some films, including Mirrormask, the screen adaptation of Coraline, and a version of Beowulf with Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, and other famous people. Most exciting to me was he talked a bit about returning to some Sandman stories for the comic's 20th anniversary in 2008.

There was also a nice moment when this little girl, who was maybe 10, asked what "it" was in The Wolves in the Walls (as in, when the wolves come out, it's all over). I thought it was nice Neil called on the little girl and gave her a thoughtful answer. He ended up saying "I have no idea, really" but did so in a nice, thought provoking and funny way. That was the highlight of the evening for me.

Neil also signed my copy of the book and we chatted about my "unusual" name for about five seconds. Unlike Frank Miller, he didn't say he was going to use it in a comic.

Posted by Nakia at 01:17 PM | Comments (2)

September 29, 2005

Bojangles is the new McDonalds

Hi, my name is Nakia, and I have a problem. . .

I guess it all started back in college. McDonalds was the only place close to campus. We'd go there after fraternity meetings. I'd run by on my way to class. Sometimes, Daniel and Kirk and I would go eat Egg McMuffin's after our Health and Exercise class. Nothing like a McMuffin and a cigarette after running 1.5 miles.

When I moved to Texas, I discovered that a McDonald's coke first thing in the morning was sublime. Maybe it was the fizz, or the sugar, or the way they mixed it all together, but I loved it. A sausage McMuffin with egg and a coke did me right, got me going. I was on a McDonald's coke a day habit for three, maybe four years. It lasted well after I moved from Texas. It didn't help that the damned things were everywhere -- right across from my office, right on my way to work. You can't escape them.

I gradually gave up the McDonald's food. Swore off of it for Lent, then managaged to extend the fast. The cokes kept on though. $1.07 in the AM was all it took. I rode the sugar/caffine snake day in and day out.

Not sure what it was that made me stop. One Lent, I think, I just gave up fast food alltogether. I wouldn't set foot in a restraunt that had a drive-thru, and I certainly wouldn't drive-thru. I stil had the occasional coke in the morning, though. Mostly I got them at the bagel joint in Charlottesville. They were really fizzy; just the way I liked them. Gradually, I gave those up, too. No coke in the morning, no fast food at all.

Now, though, I've fallen off the wagon. Not McDonalds though. I've only eaten or gotten a coke at a McDonald's once in the past year, to my regret. Now, it's Bojangles. Sausage biscuit and small pepsi (it's even pepsi, how low have I sunk!). I don't know what it is. The slighly spicy sausage? The fluffy biscuit? The fact that $2.25 is all it takes? What's next, waiting for my wife to leave for work then running to the jangles drive through on my way to the office. Wait, I did that! Is this rock bottom? I don't know, but I do know my craving is writing checks my body can't cash. I do know I can't go on like this. I have my wife to think of. I've got a good job. I can't put all this in jeopardy. . .

I need help. 12 steps, sponsor, whatever it takes. I just want to get better.

Posted by Nakia at 12:34 PM | Comments (4)

September 26, 2005

Sick Leave

Sorry about the lack of updates last week. I was feeling pretty crappy all week, which made it hard to keep up with work, much less my blog. I'm all better now, though.

Despite my illness, a lot happened last week. I'll fill in details as I get time.

Sarah's parents were here from Friday to this morning. I hope they had a good visit; I certainly enjoyed having them here. We went to an art/craft festival in Freedom Park in Charlotte, ate at McHale's in Rock Hill, played two games of "Ticket to Ride," (a very cool board game), took in a student play at Winthrop, and ate lots of Pasta and Provisions pasta. Roger and Marilyn also helped us out with some plants for the home (and a new shovel).

Other things last week that I'll get around to talking about:
Neil Gaiman at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Charlotte
Nakia's visit to the doctor
Dr. Pope gives his first test
A new gym for the Popes?

Not a lot of traffic or comments on my blog lately. Is everyone as busy as I am? Or maybe I've just gotten boring.

Posted by Nakia at 01:33 PM | Comments (9)

September 19, 2005

The Queen City

Sarah and I spent a lot of time in Charlotte this weekend, it seemed like, which was a good thing.

Sarah's new job is in Myers Park, a fancy old-money area of Charlotte. We had been invited out Saturday night by her boss, so I got up early and took her to work that morning, so we'd have just one car that night. It's about 35 minutes without traffic -- a hefty commute. I dropped her off, then headed back home. I stopped in Fort Mill to work out at the new YMCA, which was supposed to be all nice and fancy. The Fort Mill Y is in a new development called Baxter. Baxter sits right off of I-77 and looks like someone tried to take a Cape Cod village and dropped it in South Carolina. On one hand, it's a nice place. You can walk to shops and stores. It's very family and pededstrian friendly. The YMCA and an elementary school are right in the development. The houses also look very nice from the outside; unlike a lot of developments, they all don't look exactly the same. There are different colors and styles. On the other hand, it's a little wierd to see those style houses in South Carolina; it has a Disney-like inauthenticity to it. Plus, even though I acknowledge and would enjoy many of the benefits such a place provides, those type of developments freak me out a little. Something "1984" ish/The Prisoner about them all. Of course, our next house will probably be in one.

I ran some other errands Saturday (a garden hose! whoo!), then messed around the house while watching football. Texas A&M won. Virginia won on a last second field goal. I dozed off somewhere in there. I stopped over at cousin Robbie's for a bit to watch some more football on his giant TV, then went to pick Sarah up. We followed her boss to Ilios/Noche. This restraunt was great, made even more great by the fact that Josh (Sarah's boss) knew everyone that worked there. There's a definite food subculture in Charlotte that the Pasta and Provisions folks are plugged into. So, we met the chefs (three Culinary Institute of America grads own and run the place) and most of the waitstaff. We were met at Ilios/Noche by Bernie (Sarah's other boss) and some of their friends. We basicly closed the restaurant down, eating octopus, pizza, lamb chops, and more of the Spanish/Greek/Italian fusion cuisine. While all the folks we were with knew a whole lot about food and wine, things never felt snobby, which was a good thing.

Sunday we slept in a bit, then took a drive because the weather was so nice. Wandering aimlessly, Sarah stopped in some tiny SC town so we could play on the see-saws in the park. I love my wife because she does stuff like that. I understand why you never see see-saws anymore, though, because they are broken bones and lawsuits waiting to happen.

Sunday afternoon we read the paper and watched The Last Samurai, courtesy of Netflix. Enjoyable, if not great. The we headed back into Charlotte (Matthews, technically) to hang out with our friends Lee, Marianne, and their son Ben. We ate some burgers and talked for a bit. Sarah and I were home about 9:45 and promptly went to bed. I slept like crap for some reason, waking up at 4:30 and unable to get back to sleep. That was a hard way to begin a Monday, but thankfully work is pretty light today. I'm giving my first test tomorrow, so I just had to polish that off and get it copied. Nothing else is pressing, so I may leave a bit early today and nap.

Posted by Nakia at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)

September 15, 2005

One Headlight

I was prompted to write this brief entry when the ITunes stopped on some Wallflowers. Is there any musician who faced(s) more pressure than Jabob Dylan? I mean, what can you do when your dad is an American musical deity? You can put out fairly simple but elegantly crafted rock, keep your head down, and plug away. Sure, he could do some project with his dad and make a million bucks, but he and his really talented band just keep putting out these albums that, while not revolutionary or anything, are high-quality and fun to listen to.

Posted by Nakia at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

Thursday Afternoon

Not feeling very original today in the title department, but things are going well after a rough start to the week. Nothing horrible was happening, but I was just feeling really stressed out by a thousdand little things -- class stuff, office stuff, house stuff, money stuff. I felt overwhelmed a bit.

Now, though, I've retrenched. Getting Things Done has helped a bit, as I've gone back and looked through the system again. I realized that I was neglecting key aspects of the plan, especially the weekly review. I spent most of the day yesterday getting the system off the ground again -- tweaking my Outlook categories, putting things in the proper places, etc. Getting things off my mind and into some easily accessible place is vital to keeping my stress level down.

We also got cable yesterday, so now we have 65 channels and internet at the house. The later will be helpful in getting things done at the house, while the former will be an occasionally necessary diversion, at least. Last night we watched some baseball and some Comedy Central.

On the house front, we've prioritized the things we can and need to do, with help from my friend and contractor Brian. At the top of the list is to stain/seal our deck. First thing is to see if anyone has a pressure washer to borrow. Then we'll get the stain and some brushes and go to work. Even getting the really nice, really good stain/sealant that Brian recommended, we can get it done for a few hundred bucks at the most. That will make us feel better, because we've actually done something to the house. And, the deck will be treated and look nice.

Things have not panned out so well on the D&D front. They guy I met at the meetup didn't email me back. Maybe I made a bad impression or something. I still want to find a group, but maybe Someone is telling me to concentrate on other things now instead of gaming. Flow with the water and all that.

Horrible Netflix Choice -- Timeline. That movie was bad, except for the cool trebuchets with flaming ammunition. Bad, bad, bad.

Posted by Nakia at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2005

A weekend at home

First of all, congrats to our friends Tim and Christy on the birth of their son, Finley. w00t! indeed.

This weekend, Sarah and I were glad to be able to stick around Rock Hill by ourselves. It seems we've been gone or had vistors every weekend since we've had the new house. There was one kinda big new thing, though, that made it interesting.

The big new thing is Sarah got a job. She's watching the children of a couple of other Winthrop professors three days a week; that job starts in earnest this week, with one of them back from maternity leave. But she's wanted something else, both to bring in some extra money and so she can meet people and keep busy. She's such an extravert that she needed more than being alone at the house or hanging out with infants wasn't. She found out that her old boss (Bernie) from I Fratelli now was managing Pasta and Provisions,a gormet shop with a large wine selection and homemade, cut to order pasta. She went by to say hello to Bernie and the other manager, Josh, offered her a job. She started training on Saturday. I'll say the shop is very cool and I'm glad Sarah is happy working there. She's now very busy -- watching children three days per week and working at the store three other days. I think it will be good for us both, as it will keep her occupied and get me involved in the household chores more; I was getting lazy.

I also was in Charlotte on Saturday, at a D&D meetup. I found a Charlotte D&D Meetup group which happened to have a "meetup" on Saturday. I went, but only one other person showed up. He was pretty cool, so we exchanged emails and talked about how to find some other people to play D&D with. Hopefully that will pan out, because I'm itching to get playing again.

Sunday we cleaned and did laundry. I came up to the office for a bit, to try and get caught up. Mistake. I didn't really get much done other than bum myself out because I was in the office on Sunday. Sarah and I went to the park and threw the softball in the afternoon, then went to Chilis and ate dinner.

Netflix this weekend: The remainder of "Sex and the City Season 5" for Sarah and "Kinsey". The later was good, with good performances all around. Lots of not-that-arousing bits of sex and sex related bits, which is kinda the point and may not be for everyone, but was expected. I find I'm starting to refer to movies in Netflix speak: "Liked it" "really liked it" "loved it", etc.

Got our Wilco tickets in the mail -- Oct 14th in Asheville. Yeah!

Posted by Nakia at 03:55 PM | Comments (3)

September 08, 2005

I hate cars

I want to live in a big city so I won't have to drive. I could seriously do without the automobile. I like my car and it gets me around just fine, but days like today really make me wish I could just take the bus. But it all worked out in the end.

It was time for an oil change. I had a coupon from place #1, which was a mistake. Nakia's Rule's of Life #94 -- Never Get Auto Repair From A Place That Uses Coupons. I dropped my car off this morning, went to the gym, then went back. It wasn't done. No big deal. I went home and showered, then they called me. "We haven't changed your oil yet, but you need new breaks and your check engine light is on" (My check engine light has been on for two years. They're a scam.). Of course something else is wrong, otherwise you couldn't get hundreds of dollars from me! So I tell them "no thanks, just change the oil" and hang up. Ten minutes later I get another call saying they won't change the oil because the previous shop who changed the oil did something to my oil plug and they should fix it. Now I'm pissed, because I'm not getting my oil changed, I have to take my car somewhere else, and that place messed up my car in the first place. So I take the car to place #2.

Place #2 is nonplussed by my probelm, but will look at it right away. I have to get to the office and Sarah has to get to her book group, so I drop the car off, drop Sarah off, and go to work. By noon, I've not heard anything and I have to pick Sarah up. I call them back and they tell me it's ready; if it's ready, why didn't they call? They also say the plug is not broken, but they changed my oil for free.

I pick up the car and get a better explanation; my plug apparently needs a plastic washer or something, and when screwed in it looks like there is no washer at all. Place #1 told me that Place #2 had used a flat washer, so the washer went up into the pan and that was bad. Place #2 assured me they had done the right thing and changed my oil for free.

So, I have no idea who was right. I'm not even sure my oil got changed, to be honest. I should probably check to make sure it has oil in it at all. I'm not going back to either place again, since one or the other is either lying or incompetent.

I wish I could just take the subway. Then I'd have nothing to worry about except muggers.

Posted by Nakia at 03:45 PM | Comments (2)

September 07, 2005

On (not) Getting Things Done

After reading Paul's blog I went out and bought Getting Things Done with the hope that it would help me be more productive professionally. I've followed some of the book's advice so far and it has helped. I haven't fully implemented the GTD system, though, mainly due to intertia rather than any particular or problematic part of GTD. I've set up the files in my office in the GTD way; I do my best to follow the "Two Minute Rule" (which, more than anything, is a great idea). But I'm still not as productive as I'd like to be, especially in the afternoons.

It's now about 4:00 and I haven't really done anything productive in the past hour. I get this way a lot in the afternoons; I'm much more focused in the morning. That's why I like teaching in the afternoons; it forces me to be focused and on point enough to deal with my students.

Maybe it's a physiological thing, something about blood sugar and sleep patterns and the way I eat. I know the Spanish way, with a little nap in the early afternoon, is appealing to me. Or maybe it's the fact that, on a day like today, I can leave and go home if I want. My office hours ran until three, I had no meetings or appointments in the afternoon, so I could go home. So part of me knows that, but part of me says stay and get things done. What happens is I stay and don't get much done, which is a poor compromise.

Posted by Nakia at 03:46 PM | Comments (5)

September 05, 2005

Football is back! (and some other things, too)

Sarah and I went to Greenville/Clemson Saturday for the A&M/Clemson game. Much fun, even though we were on the losing end of a heartbreaker.

After a visit to the gym Saturday morning, Sarah and I loaded up the car and lit out for Greenvegas. It was quite two hours. We checked in early to our hotel (thanks, Hampton Inn!), grabbed some lunch, and drove down 85 to Clemson (where the 'P' is invisible).

I'd only been to Clemson once before, back in 1994 to see Pink Floyd. I'd forgotten how in the middle of nowhere it is, although College Station is the same way. We missed much of the pregame traffic. After a lucky break on a parking space, we wandered around a bit and found a fellow Winthrop faculty member who had invited us to her tailgate. Although we were decked out in our maroon, we were welcomed and fed. I had never really tailgated before, but had a great time just hanging out and eating. We went to the stadium early to watch the Clemson band march down the hill, then found our seats. We were smack in the middle of the Clemson section, of course, but everyone was pretty nice.

The game, if you were an A&M fan, was not that great. Sure, it came down to a last second field goal, but I didn't feel good about the way A&M was playing all night. They beat themselves. There was a holding penalty that called back a touchdown, lots of dropped passes (including one on the one-yard line), and they gave up a punt return for Clemson's only touchdown. The defense looked like it was playing "prevent" all night -- giving up 4-5 yards every rush, then stiffening inside the 30. Well, that strategy does not work when you have a decent kicker who drills a school record six field goals. Not a good indication of the A&M season; I hope it was just nerves caused by the first game away from home in a very inhospitable stadium. Death Valley was loud.

The game ended about 11:30. Sarah and I walked back to the tailgate for a bit, then got to our car about 12:30. Although traffic was moving pretty well on the roads, nobody was moving at all in our lot. We broke out the laptop and watched an episode of "Firefly" while the traffic cleared. Things turned out well, because by the time the episode ("Out of Gas" -- which I liked a lot) was over, people were slowing getting out of our lot. We got in the car at 1:30 and made it back to the Hampton Inn about 2:45, dead tired.

We slept in until 10:30, missing the free breakfast. After a shower, we headed out to Furman. The waffle house in Traveler's Rest provided some breakfast and some memories before we went to campus. Things were still quiet, since students don't come back until next weekend. There was a new building -- Hipp Hall, between Riley and the student center -- which I didn't really care for. Inside was very "office building" like, with not much scholastic feel. They've also renovated Furman Hall. It's now totally different, with dark wooden columns inside and lots of new furniture. I liked it. Sarah and I recreated the "walk of shame" from the girls dorms by the dining hall before getting back into the car and heading home. We'll be back at FU in October for homecoming; this time we're actually going to the football game.

I'm taking off from the office early today (as soon as I finish this, actually) to do some things around the house. Sarah and I are going to buy paint, then I'm going to cut the grass and clean. Ah, home ownership.

Posted by Nakia at 12:54 PM | Comments (3)

September 02, 2005

You know it's not okay

I'm sitting here in my office on a Friday morning, listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on ITunes, reposdning to student emails, entering in some grades, cleaning up the desk, and resisting the urge to check news sites. An odd mix of thoughts and emotions floats about, buoyed by this magnificnt Wilco album.

"I am an American aquarium drinker, I assassin down the avenue."

I am often completely freaked out by the news from the Gulf Coast and New Orelans. I feel sick to my stomach after reading news reports. First, there's just the physical destruction. Towns, whole freaking towns, leveled. New Orelans will be uninhabitable for months, it seems. Twenty feet of water in places. Then there are the people. Hundreds of thousands without power. Hundreds of thousands out of work indefintely. Tens of thousands stranded in what is now some war zone, apparently. People dying of dehydration at "shelters." People carjacking vehicles so they can get out of town. Armed gangs roaming the streets, looting and shooting at rescue officials. THIS IS SOME BAD POST-APOCOLYPIC MAD MAX MOVIE! THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, FOR REAL, IN OUR COUNTRY! See, I get freaked out. I just wonder, what the hell is happening? Why weren't we better prepared? Why didn't we move quicker?

"Tall buildings shake, voices escape, singing sad sad songs"

I hate the violence, looting, and lawlessness that has seemingly engulfed New Orleans. But some part of me (maybe the part that has read those sci-fi stories) has an inkling of understanding. One can, and should, I think, just ascribe some of it all (as well as the gouging and other behavior) as just Bad People. But not all of it. I think of it this way: I'm some poor guy in New Orleans. Maybe I live in public housing, or maybe I eek by on some crappy job and have my own place in a crappy neighboorhood near the levee. A big hurricane is coming and officials tell me to get out. But I can't. I don't have a car, I can't afford a plane ticket (and the airport's closed anyway). How am I supposed to go anywhere? So I go to the Superdome (where they told me to go), where 20,000 other people just like me have fled. But here the toliets don't work and food and water is running out and it looks like I've been abandoned, totally, by those who told me to come here and who, themselves, have fled. I'm angry. Everything I had, meagre though it was, is now under water. I've got nothing. This situation persists for a few days and I just get more angry and frustrated. There are lots of angry and frustrated people just like me, and some of them have guns and are heading over to the Garden District to get some TV's and china.

I'm not giving excuses. I'm just trying to understand.

There's a lot more going on in my head, obviously, but I just got a phone call from a friend I haven't talked to in awhile. It put these thoughts on a (needed and worthwhile) pause, as well as took a bit of time. Now, I have a student coming by, so I'll post more later.

Posted by Nakia at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)