March 26th, 2004

My trip to Carlsbad, New Mexico was fun and memorable - just the kind of trip that I need before the long one. The scenery wasn't that great, however; that region of the U.S. is truly the butt of America. I don't want to offend anyone from New Mexico, but if you are from New Mexico, you must admit at least that it is not pretty, and at most that it is very, ummm..."rugged" country.

The entire trip we were comparing it to Lord of the Rings. NM was Mordor, all scraggly and parched - and there was a strange coincidental effect: we saw a natural gas tower on fire at the top, and we were like, "the EYE!" When we went into the cave, we joked that we might run into orcs around the corner, and Jeremy Smith kept pretending to be Gollum, hopping on rocks and rasping, "My precious." I think the girls were tired of our boyish gestures and apt, albeit frequent, allusions. We stayed with Kim's family, and they were absolutely splendid. The whole trip was great, and I got a lot of good pics.


I told my boss a couple days ago that I would be leaving. She took it rather well. This is really a great job, and I thank God that he gave me this job at this time. I feel a little guilty only staying for 8 months or so. All the same, I am looking forward to the experiences Kaz will bring. I just realized that I forgot to say how the whole decision process came about. I'll have to do that. But not now...look for in in our next episode!

Peace.