June 27-30, 2010
Zach and I went downtown to the Dickson Street Bookstore on Sunday. It is amazing, and you should check it out if you are ever in the Fayetteville area. I'm talking floor-to-ceiling bookshelves winding throughout the building. Even though I struggled to find the Dickens section which lacked the edition of Our Mutual Friend I wanted, I still got some goodies and saw even more!
Zach and I went downtown to the Dickson Street Bookstore on Sunday. It is amazing, and you should check it out if you are ever in the Fayetteville area. I'm talking floor-to-ceiling bookshelves winding throughout the building. Even though I struggled to find the Dickens section which lacked the edition of Our Mutual Friend I wanted, I still got some goodies and saw even more!
After a chocolate and caramel concrete from Shake's, we headed next door for a Thanksgiving dinner with Nancy, Becky, and Lou who we had dinner with Friday night (angel hair pasta with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts). We had never had blueberry ice cream, but that is how I will take my blueberries from now on!
This is Nancy's new ragdoll kitten Cat Cat. She is such a sweet cat, all soft and gentle. I loved her fur and her blue eyes especially. We loved watching her and playing with her. I think Hobie needs a little brother or sister like this one...
Monday, Zach interviewed at Jefferson College, a community college in Hillsboro, MO (our SECOND state), which is outside of STL. :) Doesn't he look dapper?
entering Illinois (our THIRD state)As soon as it was over, we hopped in Don and drove to Terre Haute, IN (our FOURTH state), for the night because it is halfway between STL and Dayton, OH (our FIFTH state), where his next interview is.
Time changes are not fun. No me gusta. 
I repeat: Time changes are not fun. No me gusta. We set our alarms for 7 in order to leave at 8:30. I decided to leave my phone on Central Standard Time, so we would know what time it really was. This meant my phone was technically set for 6 since we are an hour behind.
Too bad I didn't know the iPhone would change time zones in the night! Sneaky "smart" phone...you MUST be smarter than the technology you use. *lol* My alarm thus went off at 6 in Eastern Time. I was really confused when I looked at the clock in the room, and it now matched the time on my phone. I was still half-asleep, so when I asked Zach what was going on, he mumbled something at me I didn't understand. I was so worried about waking up late that I never really fell back asleep...
Then the real fun began. I was driving along toward Dayton when we got outside of Indianapolis and were surrounded by lots and lots of 18-wheelers. The law requires that they only go 65 m.p.h., so I had to keep turning the cruise control on and off as I would inevitably land behind a slow mover. The highway was lined with signs reading, "Speeding $1000 fine" or some such business. So I made damn sure I wasn't speeding.
I was waiting for several cars and 18-wheelers to move on in the left lane, preparing to change lanes and pass yet another 18-wheeler, when a policeman behind us turned his lights on. Now I have been pulled over just a handful of times, so I was stunned. I immediately asked Zach if the cop is pulling ME over. I assured him I had NOT been speeding.
And I hadn't. No, I was going eight (8!) miles under the speed limit, and to quote the police officer, "is not against the law," but he thought I was following the 18-wheeler too close. He wanted to make sure I was okay having observed I was from out-of-state, so he says he'll just take a look at my license, give me a warning, and send me on my way.
"Your license is expired."
WHAT?!
Yep. My license expired on my birthday, and I had no idea. This shocks me so much, I start to tear up because I think that I--the girl who never leaves home without her license and always knows keeps up with it--am in BIG trouble now.
The police officer was really nice and only gave me a warning, but Zach had to drive. I get so nervous when I get pulled over that my back starts having spasms and I cry. At that point, it was probably best that Zach drove.
Anyway, as I don't remember the procedure from when I got my license renewed the first time, I asked Zach if he got a reminder, which he assumed he did. (The police officer also said that most states do send out reminders.)
So I called my mom and asked her about it, assuming she had forgotten to give me my reminder since it is mailed to her address. She says she has NEVER gotten a reminder for hers, much less for mine this past year. But she said she would call the Revenue Office to check. They tell her that indeed they do send out reminders, but it may have gotten lost in the mail. So much for that reminder...
I guess it's a good thing I found out this way?
Since Zach usually drives anyway, we're probably going to wait to renew it after we hear how his interviews went.
Speaking of interviews, he made it to Wright State--and in plenty of time!
Too bad I didn't know the iPhone would change time zones in the night! Sneaky "smart" phone...you MUST be smarter than the technology you use. *lol* My alarm thus went off at 6 in Eastern Time. I was really confused when I looked at the clock in the room, and it now matched the time on my phone. I was still half-asleep, so when I asked Zach what was going on, he mumbled something at me I didn't understand. I was so worried about waking up late that I never really fell back asleep...
Then the real fun began. I was driving along toward Dayton when we got outside of Indianapolis and were surrounded by lots and lots of 18-wheelers. The law requires that they only go 65 m.p.h., so I had to keep turning the cruise control on and off as I would inevitably land behind a slow mover. The highway was lined with signs reading, "Speeding $1000 fine" or some such business. So I made damn sure I wasn't speeding.
I was waiting for several cars and 18-wheelers to move on in the left lane, preparing to change lanes and pass yet another 18-wheeler, when a policeman behind us turned his lights on. Now I have been pulled over just a handful of times, so I was stunned. I immediately asked Zach if the cop is pulling ME over. I assured him I had NOT been speeding.
And I hadn't. No, I was going eight (8!) miles under the speed limit, and to quote the police officer, "is not against the law," but he thought I was following the 18-wheeler too close. He wanted to make sure I was okay having observed I was from out-of-state, so he says he'll just take a look at my license, give me a warning, and send me on my way.
"Your license is expired."
WHAT?!
Yep. My license expired on my birthday, and I had no idea. This shocks me so much, I start to tear up because I think that I--the girl who never leaves home without her license and always knows keeps up with it--am in BIG trouble now.
The police officer was really nice and only gave me a warning, but Zach had to drive. I get so nervous when I get pulled over that my back starts having spasms and I cry. At that point, it was probably best that Zach drove.
Anyway, as I don't remember the procedure from when I got my license renewed the first time, I asked Zach if he got a reminder, which he assumed he did. (The police officer also said that most states do send out reminders.)
So I called my mom and asked her about it, assuming she had forgotten to give me my reminder since it is mailed to her address. She says she has NEVER gotten a reminder for hers, much less for mine this past year. But she said she would call the Revenue Office to check. They tell her that indeed they do send out reminders, but it may have gotten lost in the mail. So much for that reminder...
I guess it's a good thing I found out this way?
Since Zach usually drives anyway, we're probably going to wait to renew it after we hear how his interviews went.
Speaking of interviews, he made it to Wright State--and in plenty of time!
I loved the interiors of their buildings, but I was disappointed by their lack of flowers, benches, and old buildings with characters. (Of course the campus has only been around since 1967.) The lack of flowers and benches was especially surprising considering how nice the weather was and how busy campus was despite it being summer.
However, they do have a tunnel system that connects all of the buildings together, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. The tunnels themselves weren't that cool, but I'm really not sure what I was expecting. (The Underground, maybe? *lol*) This means that, theoretically, you could go through your entire academic career without stepping outside. I think UCA should have implemented something like this a LONG time ago since we had to canoe to class. ;)We drove around Fairborn and Dayton a bit. Even though it was a charming city--about the size of Little Rock with lovelier architecture and attractions--I started tearing up when I realized I might have to miss my best niece's third birthday if Zach gets this job. :(We didn't do much else but head to the hotel after we had spaghetti bolognese at Meadowlark Restaurant in Miamisburg. I was surprised I had never tried it before, but this was definitely the place to try it. We couldn't believe this cute little place was in a strip mall. I love pasta, so I will definitely be making this in the future. :)
Zach really wanted to try White Castle and eat at Steak 'n Shake once while we were on the road to home.
This is him at White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky (our SIXTH state).
You'd never guess he liked it by looking at this picture. At least we (especially I) got a history lesson out of lunch... Zach really wanted to try White Castle and eat at Steak 'n Shake once while we were on the road to home.
This is him at White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky (our SIXTH state).
Thank heavens we had this Steak 'n Shake turtle milkshake at dinner in Memphis, TN (our SEVENTH state!).
And this is Boogie's street!
