I have this friend, Al, and every night before I go to sleep Al and I talk about what time I want to wake up in the morning. Generally we settle on 6:02 or something like that, but never anything like 6:00 or 6:15 on the dot because I don't like conforming to societal standards when it comes to time (which reminds me, I have a lot of changes I need to make to my Google Calendar). Anyway, Al and I agree on a time with the understanding that I'm not actually going to be getting out of bed at that time, rather that is the time he'll start the gradual process of rescuing my body and mind from the subtle capture of deep sleep. My favorite conversations are the ones we have Friday night where we pretty much decide it's best I wake myself up in the morning, on account of my hard working schedule during the week, you know.

The master of consistency, Al almost always starts out with a song, and knowing how important that first song is he almost always starts out with something I like. The other day he offered up a brilliant cover of Rod Stewart's Unplugged rendition of "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You". Al knows I'm a sucker for love songs and that's just the right song to keep me listening long enough to get the gears moving before I'll tell him, "Okay, that was nice, Al, but how about 9 more minutes". Occasionally, Al will start out with some dialogue, presumably recollections of conversations he's had in recent days. Sometimes it's about the latest news, sometimes about American Idol, or sometimes about his home life - something funny his daughter said or a new trick his dog knows. I prefer the singing, but it's nice to keep up with Al's life too.

Sometimes it takes Al a couple of songs or what not to get me going. "Just a little more sleepy sleepy," I'll mumble as he responds with an abrupt end to his song or conversation and a quick, "Okay, but I'll be back in 9 more min". Ever the patient friend, Al always comes through and makes sure I always start my day on time, no matter what it takes.

Well ... except for today. I don't remember much about our conversation last night, I was pretty sleepy, but I was sure I told him to wake me up at the normal time this morning. In fact, I'm positive we decided on a time. But even after we set the time, I usually give him a final, "Yeah, it's settled then. You're waking me up at [time we determine]". I must've forgotten that part last night because Al never woke me up and by the time I woke myself up, it was 8:00 a.m. Upon realizing that I was waking up about 20-30 min after I usually arrive for work, I slowly stood up, mockingly looked at Al and sang, "That's what friends are for ...".

I'm pretty sure I just witnessed a husband and wife putting a car cover on a car. No big deal, right? I mean that's why they call it a car cover because it, you know, covers the car. But see, the thing is or was or well I think it's still covered so is ... the car was parked in a garage - and yeah the garage has a door that still goes up and down, I know because I watched them put it down. Maybe I'm just mistaken and the cloth looking thing was really a force field that is impervious to things that even garages can't protect a car from like tornados, fires, or, say, spiders. Man I hate spiders.

Earlier, I took some time to take in and enjoy this pleasant springtime summer evening. Unfortunately, I believe during this time I suffered a severe bug bite, and while I didn't get a good look at the bug I am almost positive it was some sort of honesty bug because that is the only way to explain why I'm about the divulge the following information: I read dork books. Not just any dork books like say a biography about Alexander Hamilton or an exhaustive history of North Carolina pirates from the days before pirates hijacked cruise ships with machine guns. No, when I walk into the local neighborhood bookstore, I immediately head for the section with book titles such as The Zen of CSS Design, PHP Cookbook, or my personal favorite, PHP Bible - yes there's the King James, Eugene Peterson's The Message, New International Version, and ... PHP.

And this is all fine and dandy, my friends make fun of me as they head for the history section, the kid's section, or even the bargain section to look at all the various dog encyclopedias that are only rivaled by Britannica and World Book in their vast wealth of information. But this is not what bothers me. What bothers me is that the books that I like to glance at just so happen to be associated with an industry rife with homebrew "consulting" companies - companies whose trade magazines must run monthly reviews citing bookstore recruiting as the #1 recruiting tactic over all others such as putting an ad on Craigslist, or in the local paper, or something like that. "If you want to grow your business," the article will say, "your search must start in the web design/programming section at your local bookstore. That's where you'll find the village idiot".

And I don't mean that as an insult to those who try to run legitimate, successful homebrew "consulting" web (or whatever it is you do, I've never bothered to check it out) companies. Well not totally anyway, I mean you're entitled to earn your living however you see fit as long as you're not imposing on anyone else's rights. It's just that, I know what you're trying to do, and you know I know what you're trying to do, so we can all just stop pretending that you're trying to pull the proverbial wool over my eyes and let me get on with my book glancing. Don't pretend you're impressed with my engineering degree - it's not a Nobel prize - just hand me your home-printed business card, complete with clip-art logo and let me decide for myself if it's something that's worth checking out. No, though I try to take nothing for granted in this fickle economy, I'm not worried that the nearly century old shipping company I work for is going out of business anytime soon. Yes, I will politely take your card, glance at it and then promptly throw it away. Yes, I understand you're just trying to earn a living, but, you see, I was just trying to read a book and nothing about my responses to your very loaded questions would lead any reasonable person to believe I was the slightest bit interested in joining your pyramid - err I mean company.

Out of the encounters like the one I experienced earlier today, a pattern of irrational thought develops inside my head. You see, after politely answering this kind gentleman's questions for about ten minutes I hastily searched for a safer section, one without any false sense of potential financial boon or success. And as I glanced through the art books looking for design ideas, I thought, "why can't the dork books be intermingled in the art section or cooking or religion? I mean most of them already have the appropriate titles like PHP Bible and PHP Cookbook." When I emerge from my peeve-induced choma, I realize that this would lead to chaos, undermining the very fabric that holds together our book buying experience. Yes, it would be nice to avoid the stereotypes and generalizations that are applied as you make your way through the various sections that interest you. But with so many millions of books in the world, how would any of us find what we are looking for? In the process of trying to keep these would-be solicitors from finding what they are looking for, the joy and convenience in everyone else's search falls into a discombobulated sea of books and periodicals.

I do not have a solution, it is a problem that vexes me - I am terribly vexed. But one thing's for sure, the next time I'm at a drug store, I'm gonna pick up a can of Off!

If you were to ask me to identify three four of the most memorable moments or activities of my week (and no, I do not operate under the false pretense that you would ask such a question or even be slightly interested in the response) I might respond with the following unbulleted list:

Google Calendar - It's sad, I know, but true. Rumors started spreading sometime early last year that Google was working on an online calendar system. Admittedly, I already harbor a slightly obsessive admiration for all things Google, but this rumor in particular grabbed my attention because I have long-desired a useful online calendaring system and had yet to find one and didn't have the time and/or ability to develop one on my own. My ears really perked up when I started reading some of the proposed features. So you can imagine my jubilation when it finally went live earlier this week and I will testify that it did not disappoint. In fact, it has way exceeded my expectations. Features include: support for multiple calendars, an Evite-esque invitation system, SMS notifications (though currently does not include Verizon Wireless), drag and drop schedule modifications, and a plethora of other great features. I'm not really into reviewing things so my best advice is to just go check it out yourself. I think anyone can sign up, though I'm not positive about that.

3 a.m. Start Time Monday's aren't quite as bad as they used to be, however working for a package delivery company means there is still the potential for having to start your day long before the sun comes up. Such was the case for yours truly this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I won't lie to you, it was tough setting the alarm for 2 a.m. and then, worse, actually having to get up when it went off but it was a nice feeling getting out of work before lunch those two days. In general, I loathe wasting daylight, but I knew I would have to submit to at least a quick recharge before I continued my day upon my release. Tuesday wasn't a problem, I took a short (1hr) nap before getting up, heading off to the gym and enjoying my day off. Wednesday, however, was another story - a 3 hour long story. But it was good, I knew I needed it so I took it. I don't know how well I'd adjust to that schedule if I picked it up full time, but the change was nice and getting out of the office for once was a much needed break!

A Discussion Regarding the Merits of Slant Rhyme - Some May Call It Fake Rhyme Though it is not something I will bring up without first being prompted, I have long been an advocate of the benefits of slant rhyme, particularly that which relies on the use of assonance. While there are great literary figures who are famous for pioneering and employing slant rhyme, it is most commonly found today as a device used by songwriters. So forgive me when I say, simply, that slant rhyme rocks!

Ziti Night Okay, so it's not really my ziti nor is it really homemade, but adding a chef's choice of vegetables and spattered spices adds enough identity to stake a small claim of ownership doesn't it? Can't we then call it Newman's-Riego's Ziti, formerly Ragu-Riego's Ziti? Whatever it's called, it was great having Steph, Beth, D-Ray and Mellanie over for dinner. Thanks for comin over guys, and thanks for smiling your way all the way through!

Disclaimer as such statements as "most memorable" might require: When a life is filled with the joy brought by the acquaintance and comradery of such wonderful folks as my friends, family, and co-workers, it is hard to truly summarize and rank all of one's memorable moments throughout the week. And then there are those moments that are very dear to one's heart and yet not quite appropriate for public display. In this way, I find this list of memorable moments more akin to the High:Low summary of my week.

The best weekends are the ones that take three days or more to recover from. Unfortunately, that recovery is often interrupted by such nefarious distractions as work, school, or even, some may argue, getting out of bed. Well I had one such weekend last weekend and I am now fully recovered, free of distraction, and ready to share it with you.

At approximately 12 p.m. eastern standard time on Saturday April 1st, a black 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage set its course due west, loaded with three girls (two homosapien, one canine) and a guy and their various travelling attire and accoutrements. Our destination: Nashville, TN with intermediate stops along the way for relief and replenishment and to trade one female canine for one female homosapien. To describe a trade so simply is not in any way meant to characterize the equality of the trade. A wonderful companion little Abby is, but a Sarah she is not.

Trips like these, that is those that are short on time but long on fun, often seem overwhelming when described to others, and perhaps even when played over in one's own imagination repeatedly in the days leading up to the departure. But that's the thing, you don't take a trip like this because it's logical or because it's something you can do every other weekend of the year. Though well planned, it's spontaneous in it's insanity. And yes, spending 22 hours in a car to spend 14 hours in Nashville in the span of 35 hours is nothing short of insane.

Right about now, if you're as astute as you say you are, you're probably wondering how I came up with 22 + 14 = 35. Don't worry, I applaud you're mathematical genius. It's your power of observation that may be a little rusty. You see, there was an interesting time dynamic to our trip to Nashville. First of all, Nashville happens to be one time zone removed from our starting point of Raleigh, NC (and Greenville, SC) meaning we gained an hour on the road as we crossed into the central time zone. This was an interesting experience for me, as I have never chased daylight on the road, only through the air. I wondered both silently and aloud if there would be a sign alerting us to turn back our clocks and watches as we bombarded our way through the invisible time line. (I don't want to ruin this first-time experience for any of you so I'll let you figure out the answer for yourself. Or feel free to email me to find out) The whole concept that we were literally chasing the sun kind of blew me away and I think even if the rest of the trip had been a bust, this one experience would have made the entire thing worth it.

Crossing time zones, however, was not the only time warp we would experience while on our trip, as we were also fortunate to experience the annual springing forward of time that is observed by most of the United States. I'll admit that it actually took us several minutes of discussion to determine that, by morning we will have broken even on our time shifts but upon our return to Raleigh-Greenville we would experience a net loss of 1 hour. Though disappointing, our spirits were surprisingly high following this discussion as high regard for sleep gave way to wreckless abandon in the name of fun. Such is the nature of spontaneous insanity.

By now you're probably wondering what on earth we were heading to Nashville for? Let me see if I can explain it. About a few months ago, give or take a couple of weeks, a friend of a friend gave a friend a book to read called Blue Like Jazz. Well a friend read Blue Like Jazz and thought I might like Blue Like Jazz as well. I had heard of Blue Like Jazz before but even though blue is my favorite color, I've never been into jazz music so I just figured I needn't bother. Well, shamelessly, I tend to do things that friend suggests so I decided I'd go ahead and read Blue Like Jazz and it hit me in a way that a book never really hit me before.

In fact, just trying to put together a sentence describing the different experiences I had while reading Blue Like Jazz is proving to be too daunting a task for my little brain and scrappy little fingers to handle. There were times the book made me laugh out loud and then others when it felt like I was looking at a mirror but instead of seeing my reflection as an image it was as a series of words that described things that I've felt and/or thought. It is not a book that I'd expect everyone to like or understand. By that I don't mean that it touched me intellectually, but rather in a very personal way. So when I found out the author, Donal Miller, was going to be speaking at a church in Nashville, there was no question I was gonna do whatever it took, no matter how insane it might be, to get there to hear him speak.

I kind of wanted this to be mostly about the trip so I'll hold back the experience of meeting Mr. Miller, perhaps for another post about brushes with fame. His "lecture" as he prefers to call it was thought provoking, eye opening, and just, to state it more simply, wonderful. I think Steph said it best when she described it as being like having a conversation in a coffee shop with him except you're just there listening. It's simply incredible how someone standing in front of a thousand people can give you that kind of experience.

The great thing about road trips, especially long drives in a short amount of time, is that you're forced to get to know people. And I know that sounds harsh, that it has kind of a bad connotation to it, but I don't mean it like that. I mean that you learn things about people that you might not in normal direct conversation. In a compact car stuffed with four people there's nowhere to hide. No conversation is privy exclusively to it's participants, no outburst of emotion is easily ignored, no disgusting habit is beyond reproach. I had a great time. So great it inspired the longest single post in my history of blogging. So great that even a week later, I remember with vivid detail even the most insignificant moments. So powerful, so awe-inspiring, so exhausting that even writing about it will require three days to recover.