Did I tell you all recently how much I love you? 
Y'all are THE BEST! You definitely know how to pick me up when I'm down. And not only do you know how... you do it. The bestest kind of friends to have!
We had a great whirlwind trip. Drove to Delaware in 2 days (with some minor diversions in St. Louis and Columbus), the last 3 hours of which were in some heavy downpours. Mike's plane got in late (like 2:45 AM), but we knew that in advance, and it was no problem picking him up. He's really quite the seasoned traveler now at 17! Next day we had breakfast at an old diner (I'm talking stamped stainless steel and tiles here) that was there (under a different name) when we were there 25 - 30 years ago! Then we went on the campus tour. This was at the Unviersity of Delaware, both my and Amanda's (my wife's) alma mater. Lots of things were the same, some old memories are gone, some new things there, but still all is pretty recognizable. I felt old when they showed us the "new music building" across the parking lot from the "old music building." I remember when the "old" building (Amy E DuPont) opened!!! <sigh>
After the tour, we went and visited with my old research advisor in Chemistry, and he answered some questions for Mike and then gave him a tour of his lab, complete with explanations of ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy and then out to some posters of recent research that he was able to share with Mike (in terms that Mike mostly understood). Mike was definitely excited about this. We then had dinner with an old friend of ours, and gabbed until fairly late in the evening.
The next day we hit the road towards home, with a brief stop at the in-laws for lunch and more gabbing, and then homeward. I have to say Ohio was not very hospitable to us... We started looking for hotels in Zanesville, and every city of every reasonable size along I-70 had every hotel room booked until we were nearly in Indiana! We'd planned on getting a room around 10 PM. It was 2 AM before we finally found one!
Fortunately, though, that made the next day's drive home an easy one, and we were home by 7 PM. That was Sunday. Yesterday I mostly crashed (I had done all the driving -- about 35 hours of driving in 5 days), including a weather-initiated migraine, and today I'm back at work. Whew!! 
Tonight I need to help try and find the floor in the family room (we have taken clutter to a whole new dimension. There are literally only a few square feet of floor visible amongst all the crap we've accumulated. Not to mention every other available horizontal surface.
Then, after that, I have to pay bills. Oh Joy. 
I'm absolutely dying to shoot soon -- it's been forever since I've had a decent shoot (fun stuff as opposed to yawners that pay bills). I need to work on some commercial shots (which can be fun), and I have a fun idea planned for next month some time (date TBD), and a few other possibilities in the wings. I REALLY want to get some decent studio space one way or the other, though. I am so tired of shooting in the frankly inadequate space I have set up at home (not to mention the issue of our mess... ). I need someone to lease me some warehouse or retail space downtown in Columbia for very little money. Please? 
So... life is good, mostly, and I'm feeling good about it. Thanks again to all of you who helped me see that. And the offer about questions is STILL good. hahah
Y'all are THE BEST! You definitely know how to pick me up when I'm down. And not only do you know how... you do it. The bestest kind of friends to have!
We had a great whirlwind trip. Drove to Delaware in 2 days (with some minor diversions in St. Louis and Columbus), the last 3 hours of which were in some heavy downpours. Mike's plane got in late (like 2:45 AM), but we knew that in advance, and it was no problem picking him up. He's really quite the seasoned traveler now at 17! Next day we had breakfast at an old diner (I'm talking stamped stainless steel and tiles here) that was there (under a different name) when we were there 25 - 30 years ago! Then we went on the campus tour. This was at the Unviersity of Delaware, both my and Amanda's (my wife's) alma mater. Lots of things were the same, some old memories are gone, some new things there, but still all is pretty recognizable. I felt old when they showed us the "new music building" across the parking lot from the "old music building." I remember when the "old" building (Amy E DuPont) opened!!! <sigh>
After the tour, we went and visited with my old research advisor in Chemistry, and he answered some questions for Mike and then gave him a tour of his lab, complete with explanations of ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy and then out to some posters of recent research that he was able to share with Mike (in terms that Mike mostly understood). Mike was definitely excited about this. We then had dinner with an old friend of ours, and gabbed until fairly late in the evening.
The next day we hit the road towards home, with a brief stop at the in-laws for lunch and more gabbing, and then homeward. I have to say Ohio was not very hospitable to us... We started looking for hotels in Zanesville, and every city of every reasonable size along I-70 had every hotel room booked until we were nearly in Indiana! We'd planned on getting a room around 10 PM. It was 2 AM before we finally found one!
Fortunately, though, that made the next day's drive home an easy one, and we were home by 7 PM. That was Sunday. Yesterday I mostly crashed (I had done all the driving -- about 35 hours of driving in 5 days), including a weather-initiated migraine, and today I'm back at work. Whew!!
Tonight I need to help try and find the floor in the family room (we have taken clutter to a whole new dimension. There are literally only a few square feet of floor visible amongst all the crap we've accumulated. Not to mention every other available horizontal surface.
Then, after that, I have to pay bills. Oh Joy.
I'm absolutely dying to shoot soon -- it's been forever since I've had a decent shoot (fun stuff as opposed to yawners that pay bills). I need to work on some commercial shots (which can be fun), and I have a fun idea planned for next month some time (date TBD), and a few other possibilities in the wings. I REALLY want to get some decent studio space one way or the other, though. I am so tired of shooting in the frankly inadequate space I have set up at home (not to mention the issue of our mess...
). I need someone to lease me some warehouse or retail space downtown in Columbia for very little money. Please?
So... life is good, mostly, and I'm feeling good about it. Thanks again to all of you who helped me see that. And the offer about questions is STILL good. hahah
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A little geography