Freecycle

I had my first experience with Freecycle this week. I didn't post about it, but my television "died" about a month ago. It wouldn't turn on any more. When you pushed the power button, it made this small sound like it was turning on but then wouldn't do anything else. Since it's about ten years old, I didn't want to sink any money into fixing it. My friend, John, was kind enough to give me a TV he wasn't using (or using much?). So, I'm back in business. But... I had a 27" TV taking up space in my house.

Enter Freecycle. It's pretty cool. I knew David had used it before up in Kansas, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I registered w/ the Tulsa group and posted it on Tues/Wed, had a response by Wed and had it picked up Thurs. So, I've determined it's a worthwhile means of getting rid of stuff... especially LARGE stuff that would otherwise cause me headaches. Thanks, Freecycle!

Well... I'm off to bed. I'm supposed to meet friends for an early morning cup o' joe in about six hours.

The Kite Runner

While on vacation, I was able to read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It's an excellent story about friendship, betrayal, regrets and maturing. I wrote down a few of my favorite quotes...

"That's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too."

"What happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime."

"My heart was doing pirouettes in my chest."

"A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer."

If you're looking for something to read, you might want to pick it up. A movie about the book is coming out in November, though we all know the book is (nearly) always better than the movie. :)

A Road Trip to South Carolina

A friend pointed out to me today that I've fallen significantly behind in my blogging. (I agree.) So, let me catch you up a bit...

I just got back from vacation. I went to South Carolina with some friends. We took two days to drive out, and the drive was absolutely lovely. It would have been nice to have a bit more time, but as it was we still had time to "stop and smell the roses" so to say. The trees in Alabama hadn't changed colors too much, but the trees/forests in Tennessee and North Carolina were really astounding.

We drove on the Natchez Trace Parkway from Tupelo, Mississippi to Florence, Alabama...


This is a trail we hiked on the Natchez Trace Parkway...




Gorgeous! The Appalachian Mountains!


More scenic highways...


The funniest stories relate to trying to escape all of the National Forests we drove through. We finally passed a sign that said "Welcome to South Carolina." After driving and driving and driving, we hit another sign that said, "Now entering North Carolina"!! The scary part was that we were running low on gas, it was very dark and there didn't seem to be any gas stations anywhere in the forest. Fortunately we found one before we started sputtering. And, we also finally escaped North Carolina. :)

Columbia and Charleston were both a lot of fun. I got to visit my friend, Kate, in Columbia and hang with her. Then we joined up with some other friends in Charleston and did a lot of eating a sightseeing. We went on a not-so-scary ghost tour and also toured the U.S.S. Yorktown, an air craft carrier. Our hotel was lovely, and we were able to hang out there one night around a nice fire pit and just hang out.

We made the drive back in one LONG day. Fortunately we gained two hours (one from the time zone and one from the change from daylight savings)... we slept one and drove one. We left SC around 4am and arrived back in Tulsa about 9pm... only stopping long enough to eat and use the restroom.

But, I'm home... safe and sound! A good time was had by all!