Okay, so it’s been a couple days since I’ve posted here, but obviously for a good reason. The whole move to Georgia went down pretty well in that it was a smooth drive, the cats weren’t in my vehicle and hardly anything was broke when we got here. So, I’d call that a win.

Now that the move is finished, it’s all about unpacking and getting up and running. I don’t know what that means really, since I don’t have a specific job to run to. But employment, while typically overrated, is probably something I’d like to have sooner than later, so we’ll see what I can work out. In the meantime, you’ll get to read what’s going on inside my head.

Before I start filling you in on the trip, I wanted to say thank you. I’ve gotten a few comments about this blog and it really was nice to hear some feedback, especially since it was positive. I’m not great at taking compliments but I do appreciate that people are looking at it and even somewhat enjoying it. Now, I’d also take negative feedback as well, since I can learn from that. But I have to tell you now: it’s my blog, so if you blast me, I’ll probably call your ass out right here. In a profane way. And I know how to use Photoshop relatively well. I’m just saying. So anyway, feel free to leave comments if it strikes you.

As for right now, it’s about 5:50 p.m. on Monday. That’s in Eastern time, but for most of the people who might read this, that’d be 4:50 p.m. Central, or as I like to call it, 4:50 p.m. real, cool, not shitty time. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like Eastern time. I tried it when I lived in North Carolina for nearly four years, and it, well, it sucked. The Cubs don’t play at 2:20 p.m. during weekday home games. They play at 1:20 p.m. And NFL games don’t start at 1 p.m., they start at noon.

Seriously, I wish I could just take my time zone with me. DVRs can do about anything except make the popcorn, although I’ve heard that Samsung is trying to make a DVR with a microwave attachment. (NOTE: Industry sources say it’ll be on the shelves by Christmas, but the one with the pasta maker is still a ways off) So if I could just make my life revolve around my DVR, with the time being based on Central time no matter where I go in the world, it’d be so much better.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’d take Eastern time over Pacific time any day. It’s like New Yorkers vs. Los Angelinos. No contest. Take the guys with the big noses, gold chains and accents every time. And that’s not just because their cousin Joey is in the cement business in New Jersey, but that certainly is a valid point as well. No, the New Yorkers are alright because they know how to make a mean pizza and dog. It’s not Chicago-style, but they’re still good, kinda like how Evangeline Lilly is smoking hot and Julia Roberts is hot. Both are good and you wouldn’t mind having either one, but there’s no question which one is THE shit.

Well, the time zone is beside the point. The point is that we made it. We’re here and the Trickie family is finally back under one roof.

Unlike any other cross country drive I’ve made over the years, which is many, this one was weird, but it felt so great to go au naturel. No, you perv. I did not drive naked the whole way. That’s not something anyone would be pleased about. I was au naturel in the ears, as in I didn’t turn on the radio for the first 16 hours of the drive. It was me, my FFL trophy riding shotgun (check out my other page on the site called Picture This) and the open road. I just listened to the U-Haul, heard the wind and just took time to gather my thoughts about the move. Here’s what I came up with along the way:

  • The weather in Nebraska is crazy. We left on Saturday at 7:22 a.m. and almost the whole way to Nebraska City, it was a ridiculous fog, like with less than a ¼ mile visibility. I thought maybe it was just a way to make me feel like it was one more blizzard before I left the state. Gee, thanks you Mother (Nature).
  • When we left, we had to get on Highway 2. To do that from where we started, we had to go right by the stadium and my old office. I hadn’t really been sad over leaving (I’ll miss people but didn’t get that sad about leaving the job), but I will say that unexpectedly driving by there and seeing the place one last time, knowing that I’m not going to walk in there as an employee again, well, it was pretty depressing. It felt like the best job I’d ever have, or at least the most fun that I could have while working.  Can’t really explain it any more than that, but it sucked.
  • Who the hell wanted to be an explorer in the 1700s? I mean, I just drove a thousand miles in two days and saw tons of open country. That’d be like 14 weeks or something on horses and mules with wagons and such. Eating off the land. Wandering aimlessly. I mean, how the hell did they get through? There weren’t any roads; they had to make them. There weren’t any directions or maps; they had to just go west. I don’t know. Maybe I’m crazy, but I just don’t get it. Then again, I’m not looking to start my own country. Yet.
  • We got to Paducah, Ky., around 6 p.m. on Saturday. TeamCAC (it stands for Team Crazy-Ass Cats) was still glassy eyed and stoned as the drugs we got from the vet worked well. Like well enough that we had to wonder how many it’d take for a human to get that looped. Let’s see, they’re 10 pounds each and they each got one half of a pill. That’s one pill per 20 pounds, so that’d be… well, anyway, we didn’t have enough to give it a try, so the cats got the rest for Sunday’s ride.
  • It would have been fun if I had some of them cat pills for myself before going to dinner on Saturday, where I pretty much needed a translator to understand half of the waiter’s comments. Didn’t catch half the words she said, understood even fewer. Oh well, I probably should get used to that anyway.
  • While at dinner we also saw the Cubs game that we should have been at in Colorado. Thanks to Stubhub, we at least got our money back by selling them online. But had we kept them and went, we’d have seen the first home run of the game come directly to our seats. Literally, I think the person who bought them may have caught the damn ball. I’ve never even caught a foul ball at a game. I’ve been official scorer for two no-hitters and two cycles, but never once have I caught a hit ball in the stands, let alone a home run to dead center. Unbelievable. And I’m not going to talk about how the game ended. Fuckers.
  • Sunday started out much like Saturday in that it was foggy as hell. Unlike Saturday, I got a great breakfast. After driving for about 90 minutes, we stopped for gas outside of Nashville and I not only came away with $75 worth of gas, but also a corn dog, a creamy Krispy Kreme doughnut and a Pibb Xtra with lemonade (yes, I liked the fountain suicide). At 9:42 a.m. Awesome. I didn’t get the jalapeno corn dog because, well, we still had a long drive left, but there’s always next time. I love truck stop/gas station food.
  • I took a few pics during the trip (read: from the cab of the truck while driving). If you are friends with me on Facebook, check them out.
  • One of the pics you’ll see is of the state welcome sign we passed as we entered into Georgia. That was approximately 12 feet inside the state line. At 14 feet, traffic came to a dead halt. An accident three miles ahead stopped everything in all three lanes. About 45 minutes later, we finally go through the three miles and made the final stop into Atlanta at 3:15 p.m. Oh well. It’s part of the give-and-take living in a big city. (Ask me if I still feel that way in six months. Ha.)