2004-09-19 - 12:09 a.m.

Back in Jimmy World. Yeah, so the past few weeks have really been bad for a lot of people in this part of the world, weather wise. Hurricanes in the Atlantic and the gulf have destroyed islands, killed people and flooded areas all around the Southeast. Here in Atlanta trees have been falling over and knocking out power lines, and landing on people's houses and cars. It's sad to see all of the very old trees lying on their sides, roots upturned.

Last Thursday the sky turned dark and the rain started. We joked about leaving work early and then forgot about it. By 4:30 the windows in our office were buffeting and flexing. Everyone came in to watch it feeling sure it was safe because the glass has been manufactured to withstand strong winds. I guess. Our boss called from home to tell everyone to leave early to beat traffic. Of course everyone in the metro area had done the same thing so traffic was at a stand still. I sat in it for about 10 minutes and then turned and went to the mall. I ate dinner, walked around for a while, and then drove home in no time because the streets were empty. By this time the rain had slacked off and the storm was over.

The next day I got to leave work early because I had stayed late last Monday. I had the oil changed in my truck and came home to eat lunch. I laid down on the couch and fell in to a deep, deep sleep. I napped for hours and when I got up I still felt so sleepy that I decided to just go to bed. As soon as I took off my clothes and got into bed I was wide awake. It happens every time. I don't know what it is but it snaps me wide awake like nothing else can.

I got up and watched some tv. I watched the movie version of The Man Who Came To Dinner. It is one of my all time favorite plays and the movie version from the '40's with Monty Woolly is ok, but not particularly funny. I enjoyed it all the same.

Today I drove up to the suburbs to mow the lawn at my sister's house. I'll be glad when the house sells and I don't have to do that anymore. And I know my sister will be glad to get that settled as well. She needs the money from the house sell. It really is a nice little house, and for that neighborhood it is a bargain. Maybe it will sell soon.

On the way back to my apartment I stopped at a neighborhood tavern and ate a burger. It was so good. I sat and read the paper and ate my dinner at a leisurely pace. Last week I went with my coworker, Keith, to the Farmer's Market to see what it is all about. It was funny that two novices were walking around trying to find out what was what. This farmer's market has been there for years and years and is a local landmark. I have been past it many times, but have never been in.

It is amazing. If I were in to cooking I would be there every week. They have a seafood and meat market that is beyond anything else in Atlanta. You can pick trout and bass and other kinds of fresh water fish right out of a tank, live. And in the meat counter you can buy a skinned and cleaned rabbit, if you want it. And they have a lot of organic fruits and vegetables, too.

We ate lunch at their cafeteria, which we had read was a real bargain. It was good, but the market is kept so cold that you have to gobble up your food quick before it is too cold to eat. Great place for take out, though. I bought some muscadines and some cookies from their bakery. I love muscadines. They taste more like grapes than grapes do. But there is no such thing as a seedless muscadine so you have to do a lot of spitting out of pits. They used to grow wild in the woods where I grew up. Man they are tasty.

I hung out with Keith for a while. He is a really funny guy and had can tell a story like no one else in the world. He is the sort of guy who can see every detail in his mind so he has to tell his stories in order and he often branches off into a side story that also branches off to another story until he loses the tread of what he was saying. I have, unfortunately, made him really self-conscious of this and every time he branches off to a side story he acknowledges this and we both laugh our asses off. I keep mental track of the tread for him and eventually get him back to it.

All of his stories are very entertaining, though. He is a Pisces, like me, and I feel a certain kinship with him. He notices the most obscure things and just delights in them. He has really made working at our office much better.

I will be taking a few business trips soon. I will get to go to Chicago to train a client at the end of this month. And then I will get to drive up to North Carolina again to do some more on site training. If there is enough work to go around I think I will finally get the promotion that I thought would never happen. It would mean a big pay raise, too. I would like that very much.

What a weird year this has been so far. A lot has changed and I can tell I am far from settled. And how the year is flying by. Halfway through September and almost into October. Damn!

I am spending this Christmas on a cruise with my family. That has taken a lot of the pressure off. We have decided not to exchange presents, just spend our money on the trip. I just feel better knowing that the arrangements are made and on Christmas Eve all I have to do is relax and enjoy myself without having to drive all over creation and fret about buying the right gift for this one or that one.

Christmas Day on a ship, I love that. You are treated so well, too. Why not sail down to the Caribbean for the holiday? It is pretty cheap if you buy early enough. It's amazing what you can get in the off season.

I just finished up a cup of hot tea. Is there anything in the world better than plain black tea? One of my coworkers, a guy from Pakistan, let me have a Pakistani tea that was incredibly smooth and delicious. He had told me that it was better than American brand teas and I didn't believe him until I tried it. I forget the name, but he called it the yellow label tea.

I'll look for it at one of the international markets next time I go. And there is a small café in my neighborhood where you can get a really good cup I'm told. I have been meaning to try it out, but have not felt like drinking big steaming cups of hot tea during the summer. I'll have to put on a black turtleneck and a beret and check this place out.

And when I do I'll write it all down. Next time.

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