Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street

Well, I finally made it. Actually, Chet and I made it to Pasadena a few days ago, but this is the first time I've had real internet access (i.e.: not dial-up or dodgy wireless) since.

Loading the truck sucked, because I had to do it mostly by myself, and I was late getting the stuff from our friends. Fortunately, they let me take a break while about a dozen of their closest friends (in North Carolina) packed their belongings into the truck. Not all of their stuff fit, however, so we had to leave some.

Pulling a car behind your moving truck makes things less fun and a lot slower, in case anybody was wondering. There were no major incidents, but I didn't pass a single car on my way from NC to Austin. Think about that. Not even one. I did, however get over 11 mpg on that leg of the trip, which is about 4 mpg more than I expected.

The first leg was BORING, and my second day of driving lasted 16 hours. I got to eat some excellent country-fried steak at my grandmother's house in Laurel, MS, though, and BABY was waiting for me at the end of the day, so it was worth pushing on.

The second leg of the trip was significantly more interesting, due to CHET's presence. I let him drive for about ten minutes the second day. Actually, on our second day we drove for about 18 hours. It sucked. West Texas is beautiful. Arizona is a barren wasteland. Well, the I-10 corridor is, at least.

Enough boring stuff. The great part of this story is that Pasadena is amazing, and the weather could hardly be better. It feels like it's about 72 degrees all the time, and there's usually a slight breeze coming in off the ocean. The other great part is that Chet and I just finished loading up my storage unit, and -- oh, yeah -- I GOT A JOB. I'm going to be working for Fuller in the computer lab. It'll be similar to the job I had at UT five years ago as an undergrad, but I'll be making slightly less money.

I'll be spending the next few days working, looking for a house, and -- until July 4th -- waiting for Baby to get here. And I won't be driving a 15' truck, if I can avoid it.