6.29.2003
6.19.2003
Well, it's been a busy time. It turned out that what was wrong with the Civic was the distributor (no, not the cap - the whole distributor). Apparently this is a common problem in early 90's Hondas... although for it to have lasted 10 years, I'm not complaining. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Chris's dad, we are now the owners of a 2000 Honda Accord LX, and should be set on cars for a long time to come.
One result of a week's worth of carpooling with Chris is that now I'm just going to keep on coming into work at 7:30. Traffic's not too bad then, and leaving at 3:30 will be nice. I'm still going to have to work at going to bed at 9:30, but I don't think it will be so hard. I've got to get used to all this for when the baby comes, anyway.
Today's my last day of work until the 30th... tomorrow evening I leave with The Raleigh Ringers for our summer tour up north. We have concerts in PA, NJ, CT, and we'll end up on the UMass campus in Amherst, where we'll give a concert and teach some classes before starting the trip home on Saturday, the 28th. We'll spend that night in Baltimore and come on home on Sunday. Should be fun.
One result of a week's worth of carpooling with Chris is that now I'm just going to keep on coming into work at 7:30. Traffic's not too bad then, and leaving at 3:30 will be nice. I'm still going to have to work at going to bed at 9:30, but I don't think it will be so hard. I've got to get used to all this for when the baby comes, anyway.
Today's my last day of work until the 30th... tomorrow evening I leave with The Raleigh Ringers for our summer tour up north. We have concerts in PA, NJ, CT, and we'll end up on the UMass campus in Amherst, where we'll give a concert and teach some classes before starting the trip home on Saturday, the 28th. We'll spend that night in Baltimore and come on home on Sunday. Should be fun.
6.12.2003
Whew. I'm tired. This is the second day in a row I've gotten to work at 7:15 AM. We're having car trouble, and I'm carpooling with Chris (who works an hour away in Chapel Hill). Chris's 10-year old Honda Civic is barely driveable, probably due to something wrong with the emissions system. We took it to the shop on Tuesday and as of yesterday afternoon it still hadn't been looked at. It doesn't really matter, because even if we had the car, we wouldn't be able to drive it safely... but you'd like to think that once you take a car in for service, you're on the way to having your problems solved. This is almost an hour-by-hour situation; a lot depends on what they say is wrong with the car and how much it will cost to fix it. Either we will have the repair work done or we will be fast-tracking some car shopping. I've also already had to cancel one doctor's appointment; I've rescheduled for tomorrow morning but I'm not sure I'll be able to keep that one, either. I hadn't really realized how dependent we are on two cars with Chris working in Chapel Hill and now that we live further out from town. It's been somewhat of an unsettling realization. Anyway, I wish we had a nap room at my office. :)
6.11.2003
My, Chris, what a big forehead you have...
This photo was taken by our friend Huyen when we met up for lunch at Macado's in Roanoke, VA back in March (click the photo for a larger version).
This photo was taken by our friend Huyen when we met up for lunch at Macado's in Roanoke, VA back in March (click the photo for a larger version).
6.04.2003
Conversation overheard in the Shaverfamily master bedroom last night, as Fox News reported on Martha Stewart on the TV:
Katherine: I was planning to buy some more of Martha's crib sheets, but I don't know...
Chris: (the verbal equivalent of shrugging shoulders)
Katherine: Do you really want your sweet, innocent baby sleeping on sheets whose purchase funded a criminal empire?
Chris: Well, as long as they don't pill!
Katherine: I was planning to buy some more of Martha's crib sheets, but I don't know...
Chris: (the verbal equivalent of shrugging shoulders)
Katherine: Do you really want your sweet, innocent baby sleeping on sheets whose purchase funded a criminal empire?
Chris: Well, as long as they don't pill!
6.03.2003
It was quite interesting to me to see the tiny town of Murphy, NC plastered all over the major news networks this past weekend. You see, I lived in Murphy for 6 years -- from shortly after I turned 10 until age 16, or from 1986 until 1992. I had some of the best and worst times of my life there, and I'm not sure whether that's due to the town itself, the normal ups and downs of being that age, or a combination of both. Murphy is definitely a place like no other.
I didn't know Eric Rudolph, or Jeff Postell, or any of the other people that have been quoted or featured in news reports and interviews, except one: Mayor Bill Hughes. He was my elementary school principal and once detained me in the hallway after he caught me trying to kick a boy named Trevor in the rear on the way to lunch (Trevor had done something to me right before Mr. Hughes stepped into the hall, I promise!). Mr. Hughes and his wife also attended the same church we did. There's not much else I can say about him, except that he's perfectly suited for politics and very fussy about his appearance - I've never witnessed him with a hair out of place. In his interview on CNN on Saturday, I was oddly pleased to see that he pretty much looked, sounded, and acted the same as I remembered him.
I'm not sure what to say with regards to the assumption that the locals were helping Rudolph. I probably didn't know enough about such things, or wasn't observant enough during the time I lived there to really be a good judge of whether this could be true or not. Sure, there are some radicals in the area. But my recollection of the people is that while they are somewhat clique-ish and gossipy, they are pretty much like lots of people all over the country. They drive two hours in nice cars to Chattanooga, Atlanta, or Asheville to go shopping for the latest fashions, they eat at the steakhouse after church on Sunday, they're wild about high school sports, and in the summertime there's nothing they like better than to spend a day on the lake. I'd never say that Murphy is some sort of Utopia, but it is home to plenty of basically decent people.
I didn't know Eric Rudolph, or Jeff Postell, or any of the other people that have been quoted or featured in news reports and interviews, except one: Mayor Bill Hughes. He was my elementary school principal and once detained me in the hallway after he caught me trying to kick a boy named Trevor in the rear on the way to lunch (Trevor had done something to me right before Mr. Hughes stepped into the hall, I promise!). Mr. Hughes and his wife also attended the same church we did. There's not much else I can say about him, except that he's perfectly suited for politics and very fussy about his appearance - I've never witnessed him with a hair out of place. In his interview on CNN on Saturday, I was oddly pleased to see that he pretty much looked, sounded, and acted the same as I remembered him.
I'm not sure what to say with regards to the assumption that the locals were helping Rudolph. I probably didn't know enough about such things, or wasn't observant enough during the time I lived there to really be a good judge of whether this could be true or not. Sure, there are some radicals in the area. But my recollection of the people is that while they are somewhat clique-ish and gossipy, they are pretty much like lots of people all over the country. They drive two hours in nice cars to Chattanooga, Atlanta, or Asheville to go shopping for the latest fashions, they eat at the steakhouse after church on Sunday, they're wild about high school sports, and in the summertime there's nothing they like better than to spend a day on the lake. I'd never say that Murphy is some sort of Utopia, but it is home to plenty of basically decent people.
I want some Skittles and neither vending machine in the building has any.
I want my new cell phone to hurry up and get here.
I wish rebates didn't take so many weeks to redeem.
Now what about that gratitude journal I've been thinking of starting?
I want my new cell phone to hurry up and get here.
I wish rebates didn't take so many weeks to redeem.
Now what about that gratitude journal I've been thinking of starting?
