Unemployment: Day 18

Another day, another rain storm, another day of shopping. Didn't get much accomplished today. Managed to get my dad's b-day gift taken care of, so that's good. Maybe tomorrow will be a bit more interesting. Only two more days until vacation. My brother flies in on Friday - it will be good to have him in town and riding down to South Carolina with us. I'm really looking forward to the haunted Charleston tour during my vacation. I plan to take lots of pictures - maybe I'll capture a ghost on film! Hasta la vista!

Unemployment: Day 17

Today was another rainy one here in Ohio. We headed over to Columbus for some shopping this afternoon and met up with my aunt, uncle, three cousins, grandma and grandpa at PF Chang's this evening for my cousin's birthday dinner. It was my first time at Chang's - good stuff. After dinner, we went to my cousin's apartment in Columbus and had cake and ice cream. Good times were had by all. That was about the extent of the day. I did manage to find some sandles and hiking boots in Columbus. Tomorrow is tennis shoe hunting day and haircut day. Gotta get the hair short for vacation this weekend! That is all.

Unemployment: Day 16

Here we are with another day on the old homestead. Went four-wheeling through the woods again today. We've created a pretty nifty trail back there. It is a lot of fun and I've started trying to go a little faster to amp up the excitement a bit. Besides that, my mom and I worked on the media room some more. We're done with the riser platform for the theatre chairs and we added lights to that yesterday. Today we hung some big movie poster/board things to add some entertainment flair to the room. The picture on the HDTV looks great. Well, I'd better be going now. I've got lots of country-type stuff I should be doing. Keep looking up - unless there are birds flying overhead!

Weekend Stuff

So, last night I helped my dad build a platform to put raise two theatre-style chairs in our basement media room. That's right. I did some carpentry. Tonight I tried my hand at laying carpet as we carpeted said stand. So, in the last two days, I have learned two new trades. Good stuff. That's about all we got done today as the DirecTV guy was here installing HDTV for the better part of four hours. Tomorrow may include a trip to the outlet mall about 45 minutes away. That's all, that's all, that's all folks!

Unemployment: Day 15

Another day of country living. Today started out with some garage sale action. Didn't buy anything (probably not unexpected, since I don't have a job currently). We then went to Roots Restaurant in Lancaster. This is a pretty funny place. It is a country cooking restaurant in an old converted house. Lots of old people like to eat there (my grandparents suggested it today). We then went to some more garage sales and followed that up with a visit to the local ice cream parlor. It was good, but not great. I prefer Cold Stone Creamery myself.

When we got home from the long day of garage sales, my grandpa and I got on the four wheelers and worked on the trail through the woods behind my parents' house. He had and ax and I had a machete. We cut down small trees and other weeds and bushes. We also moved a few logs off the trail and removed a post that was in our way. We've got a trail that goes all through the woods and back out to the main road to the house now. Good stuff. Well, that's it for now. To you and yours - goodnight!

Unemployment: Day 14

This is some country living! Today I spent an hour and a half doing the following:

1) stringing fresh green beans on the front porch
2) picking wild raspberries in the front yard
3) reading the paper on the front porch

Did you know that wild raspberries are black and not red? Well, that's about it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll burn some brush or something. Until then, over and out!

Unemployment: Day 13

Not much to report today. We've got some crazy red-tailed hawk that likes to chill in the tree next to the house and scream at us when we come outside. He thinks he's pretty cool with his big claws and beak. Well, actually, he is pretty cool, and pretty endangered. It is amazing seeing all of the wildlife around here. Haven't seen anything dead lately, so that's good. Still trying to get the room in order, but who am I kidding? I was still trying to get my room in order at my apartment and I lived there for almost three years. Until tomorrow, adios muchachos.

Unemployment: Days 11 and 12

I've been away for the Fourth of July holiday (visiting relatives), so I wasn't able to update yesterday. Nothing too exciting going on. I got to visit with about 40 or so relatives over the past few days, so that was cool. Today I don't really have too much going on, so I think I'll be working in the garage, trying to get everything sorted out. I need to figure out what all goes needs to stay out there. I've also got a bunch of boxes to break down. Should be fun - it is raining like crazy here today. We got over two inches of rain last night.

Accomplishments

Finally got some stuff done today. Got my address changed with the bank and ordered some new checks. I also got my cell phone changed to a local number and picked up a new phone while I was at it. I got a nifty little Samsung camera phone. It's my first camera phone. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure something out. My folks got their big TV delivered today so I had to hook that up for them. Next step is ordering some DirecTV HD service. This TV is too sweet! Off to visit the grandparents tomorrow and Monday for the holiday and my grandma's birthday. Should be fun visiting with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Until we meet again. Hasta la vista.

Unemployment: Day 10

Today was once again spent helping my mom with some shopping. She needed to find a stand for her new TV and some theatre chairs. We knew the chairs were at Best Buy, but we weren't sure where we were going to find the stand. We ended up getting one at a place called Value City Furniture. Nice place - they are delivering next Thursday. We also went to Best Buy and got the chairs. We pick them up tomorrow morning. When we came home, there were eight buzzards going at the remains of the groundhog I threw into the field a couple of days ago. They seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

Unemployment: Days 8 and 9

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. Got a little busy. Big day of shopping with my mom yesterday. We found a really nice TV that they'll be delivering on Saturday. I rode my dad's four-wheeler yesterday and today. Yesterday, when we got home from shopping, there was a dead groundhog in front of the mailbox (somebody hit it with a car). I had to take a shovel and go throw him into the field. As I approached him, I realized that I wasn't 100% sure that he was actually dead. I threw a couple of rocks at him and he didn't move. I then tapped him with the shovel and he still didn't move, so that confirmed my thought that he was a goner. I picked him up with the shovel and threw him into the field across the road. The buzzards will get him now. Gross huh?

Unemployment: Day 7

Today I managed to get my clothes into my closet, so that is always a good thing. I also got my bookcases moved up to my room, so I actually have somewhere to sit all of this stuff now. My grandma, grandpa and aunt are coming up to visit this evening. I've already learned that there are many visitors here at my parents' house. I consider that a good thing though. I haven't seen most of my family much over the past 16 years or so, so I enjoy catching up. I'm planning on getting my car registration, insurance and drivers license all switched over to Ohio sometime this week.

Unemployment: Day 6

Yes, this is day six because I'm not counting weekends as unemployed days (I wouldn't be working them anyway). So, on day six of unemployment, I managed to get my computer set up and then find out that it wouldn't come one. I printed out all the troubleshooting options and discovered that it was probably a bad power supply. I took it to a local computer repair shop and they confirmed my diagnosis (yes!). About a half hour and $75 later, my computer was as good as new. I also discovered that my television appears to be on the verge of destruction. The picture rolls for about the first 10 minutes after turning it on. Not a good sign. I guess I shouldn't have taken that corner so hard on the way here from Texas.

I managed to get my home network up and running this evening. It was actually easier than I expected, so that was a pleasant surprise. That was really the first thing that worked out correctly since I started on this trek. Oh well, what can you do?

That's it for day six. See you on the flip side.

Weekend fun

Today I spent the first half of my day shopping for a computer desk, a TV wall mount and a shower caddy. I spent the second half putting together the wall mount and computer desk. Good times. The good news is both are now sitting in my room in good repair and I don't have to worry about them any more. The bad news is I now have to actually hook up the TV, DVD, VCR and DirecTV receiver and the computer system. Tomorrow I get to install the wireless network.

Weekend stuff

Lots to do this weekend. I need to buy a new desk and I went to Sam's today to buy a wireless network router so I can get my desktop and laptop computers on-line. I'm also going to have to go to Home Depot to get a wall mount for the TV in my bedroom. I might go to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a shower caddy, but I don't know - I don't know if I'll have time. Rock me! (If you don't get the reference, ask me and I'll let you know.)

Unemployment: Day 5

Didn't want to get out of bed this morning. My alarm was set for 7 a.m. but I ended up actually getting up at about 8:30. I went to the grocery store and Steak 'N Shake and then came back and unloaded my trailer. We got the trailer back to the U-Haul place, so that's good. Don't have to worry about that any more. Tomorrow I'm hoping to go buy a wireless network router, so I can get my laptop up and going. I still have tons of work to do to get my new room to my liking. So far so good. This evening we were sitting on the front porch and got to see two big deer walk through the soybean field across the road. That was pretty awesome. Now it is dark and the lightning bugs are everywhere. It is quite amazing to see. Until tomorrow - peace!

Unemployment: Day 4

Today was a long day. We left Memphis, Tenn. at about 8:30 a.m. central time this morning and arrived at my new home at about 8:15 p.m. eastern time. Lots of hours on the road, but at least I don't have to make the return trip. We're going to unload the trailer in the morning, so at least I don't have to worry about that this evening. So, I guess this means I'm officially home now.

Unemployment: Day 3

Well, I'm a little later than usual on this, but here is the low-down on day three of unemployment. I met up for breakfast with my mom, dad and brother on Wednesday morning. We went to IHOP at 8 a.m. and we were scheduled to pick up the U-Haul trailer at 9:15 a.m.

We got to the place on time and we went out to hook up the trailer. Basically every time I've moved, something has gone wrong. It's not always something huge, but it is always something. Anyway, we hooked up the trailer and the lighting system didn't work. The lady at the place where we were picking it up gave us directions to a real U-Haul place where they could help us figure out what was wrong. Turns out my dad's SUV had a blown fuse. We had to go to AutoZone and get a new fuse. We returned to the original place to pick up the trailer and the lady hooked it up again and it still wasn't working. At this point, I was freaking out, but after a few adjustments, everything started working okay.

So, after finally getting the trailer (about two hours after the planned time), we got started on loading it at about 11:30. After lots of heavy lifting and strained backs, we finished up everything at about 2:30 and were on the road. We stopped for lunch in Greenville for lunch (at about 4 or so) at Cracker Barrell. We finally stopped for the night just north of Memphis, Tenn. at a Ramada Inn. We found a Wendy's and got some burgers and went to bed.

So, I'm no longer in Texas and am currently feeling like quite the nomad, since all my stuff is moving cross-country with us.

Unemployment: Day 3/The End of an Era

Well, today is the third day of my unemployment and also the day of my big move. Not looking forward to today. Lots of heavy lifting and then lots of driving. I've got everything packed, so now I've just got to wait until we can pick up the trailer after 9 this morning. As far as the end of the era thing, it is the end of my time in Texas. It's been a great sixteen years, but the time has come to move on (or actually back to Ohio in this case). I just want to tell my friends how much I'll miss them and I'll be sure to keep in touch. See ya on the flip side!

Unemployment: Day 2

Day two of unemployment is just about over and I've actually managed to get a bit accomplished today. I went to lunch at Saltgrass Steakhouse with my mom, dad and brother. Besides that, I have basically finished packing (no thanks to Saved By the Bell reruns and the horrible movie - Career Opportunities on TV). This evening, my roommate and I are going to my parents' hotel room to watch the Mavericks game with them. I sure hope they win!