Oh, Deer

I hate driving down Route 17 South.

I've only done it twice counting today, but I have good reason to hate it.

First, it's where I got my ticket back when I was in high school for going 82 in a 55 mph zone. Well, it was more like... 90's, but who's counting? I was momentarily an idiot, and the day was so traumatizing that I now try to keep my speed at only about 15 over the limit.

Second, it goes to Virginia beach.

But really, anyone will tell you thats a dumb way to get from Northern Virginia down to the Hampton Roads area. While "Middlesex County" may sound more intriguing than Before or Aftersex Counties, it's full of cops waiting to pull you over. The first time I drove 17 I thought I'd be beating 95 traffic and didn't know better. This time I was coming from my Dad's in southern Maryland on 301 and I mistakenly followed a sign that said "Newport News, this way!" and ended up on 17. Remember--the trauma--so I almost turned around immediately after I realized my folly. But I decided to face my fear and carried on.

I set the cruise control at 1 mph above the speed limit on my trusty rented Dodge Ram to ensure nothing could go wrong. Both feet up on the dash and hands behind my head, I continued driving to the hotel room I currently live in. But this is 17, it doesn't leave you alone. It was getting dark, and since no one else was on the road, the shape I saw in the road seemed mysterious. Well, the mystery was quickly over, as I realized it was a dumb stupid deer probably trying to eat asphalt about 50 feet ahead of the truck's oversized grill. I hit the breaks and the horn simultaneously, and my luggage/clothes hangers/face lunged forward. Luckily, the dumb stupid deer got out of the way, because like my American Indian ancestors, I believe in using all parts of any animal I kill, and I certainly was not going to ruin the Five Guys I was planning on having for dinner. Naw but seriously, I'm not trying to kill a baby deer and I'm glad that everybody made it out alright, although it does give new meaning to "deer in headlights" for me personally.

All in all, I consider evading wildlife and not getting pulled over as counting for two points, so I'm beating Rt. 17 2-1. Hopefully, the game is over.

Seriously though

I really dig Panera. The chocolate croissants are BOOOMB==+_=-

And I just saw the came out with the new Macbook that comes with the same "7 hour" battery as the Pro I just got. Could have saved me $300...

I'm pissed at Mac again.

Panera > Barnes and Noble > Hotel. Mac's are okay, too.

In terms of internet, that is. I happen to be in a Panera right now, and it happens to be the only place where I have consistently gotten internet access on my few weeks of travel so far. B&N was good for coffee and the "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" book that I purchased, but the internet was poop. Beautiful Hampton only has so much to offer, I need my internet dosage daily. And now that I have a new internet-machine to play with, reliable access has become all the more important.

Alright, I'll admit it. Mac's are cool. They really are. I ordered one a couple weeks ago and it finally arrived last week. I watched from a window all Friday afternoon, looking for the Fedex man to bring my package which was making its way around the world from its birthplace in China. I was so excited, I ran upstairs when I saw the truck turn around the corner, to pretend I hadn't been waiting and watching. The doorbell rang, I paused for a few seconds to better mimic that "Oh! The doorbell" reaction time, and then casually and carefully walked down the steps, as not to fall and knock myself out, which would prevent me from signing the digital pad.

I wanted to hate them. I prided myself on not surfing the Mac wave, citing the fact that many of my friends who swear by them have replaced them a couple times. I thought they were looking at Mac's with some kind of undue admiration, with a veil hiding the problems that Mac's really encounter. Maybe I was jealous, jealous of the glowing apple insignia on the front of many computers in a... well a Panera for one. That apple mocked me. Now it is my computer that is doing the mocking. But that's not what it's about, is it? Its about speed, ease, battery life, and sexy one-piece aluminum casing. It really is beautiful, and I have so much speed that I've run out of Internets to look at. Not a bad thing, people. I also have this thing called a.. a webcam? I've probably spent too much time attempting to video chat anyone who shows up with a little camera next to their name. Just wait until this thing becomes a video blog.

Anyway, the thing has been working go so far. I still don't consider myself Justin Long, and you'll hear from me if this thing starts to suck, but for now keep on sendin' the iChat invites.

PS: I swear I heard gunshots the other night. Better than C-ville I suppose, where I KNOW I heard gunshots. That was a good night, eh boys?

Currently Overplayed on My iPod

1. 11th Dimension - Julian Casablancas (of the Strokes)



2. Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear (although the video kind of creeps me out)



3. Animal - Miike Snow

The Suite Life of Andy Smith

Hanging out in my hotel room at the SpringHill Suites in Hampton, VA. Very nice establishment. Poor, poor internet though. It took a phone call to what I'm sure is some part of India (Bangalore?) and some patience to get this far, and I'm pretty sure gchat still doesn't function. Fail.

Anyhoo, I thought I could take this time while I'm travelling for business (as I will be for the next six weeks on Monday-Thursday--four day weeks plus overtime? I can deal) to go over some of the "highlights" of my trip last week.

I woke up at a nice, ripe 4:45 A.M. to drive to Just-the-tip, VA... a hair short of the fine state of West Virginia. On the way I hit up Scotland's finest, McDonalds, for a company-paid breakfast. Great, except that aparently 5:30 is too early to order inside the store, and I waited for 10 minutes, and finally received my food and a soda cup to put coffee in. Hot coffee through a straw, I'm telling you it'll be the next thing to catch on. If you'd like to burn a hole in your throat.

Driving in circles was as good as ever. That's essentially what I did for two hours straight, and what I would continue to do for two more times that day, and three times a day for two more days. It's boring but I get paid... AND I get to travel to wonderful places. This particular place consisted of three stop lights, two of which were to on-ramps to I-81. Oh, and a truck stop. Can't forget the "Flying J" that I frequented for bathroom breaks. Sounds more like a complicated lovemaking technique than a gas station, but who am I to judge.

One excellent part of this Flying J was the high number of quality RV's that populated the oversized parking lot. Phaeton, Allegro Bay, Teton Homes, and may favorite the Dutch Star. Did I mention this was boring? I was so bored I wanted to take up smoking JUST to have something to do. Plus my rental car smelled like it already. Fail.

After I was done up there, I drove down to my next destination, a little hotel you may have heard of... the Comfort Inn in Harrisonburg. After all the driving I needed to get the blood moving so I went down to the fitness center. I guess "center" means "smaller than the room you're staying in" because there was literally a treadmill, a TV, and a stairmaster. And the treadmill was taken. Watching TV is perhaps not the best way to excercise, so I jumped up on that stairmaster and climbed away. I don't know what was funnier: the guy powerwalking on the treadmill with his laptop in hand listening to 90's japanese pop music, or the fact that I was jammin to the beats. That's a lie, the guy was definitely funnier.

Next day I got back to work in Timberville, about 20 minutes north of JMU. Let me tell you, I would love to wake up to the crisp, fresh farm air of Timberville Everday. Who doesn't love a town that smells like dogfood. I will never look at a chicken sandwich the same way.

Just when I thought it had to get better, the next day I drove to Dayton just south of JMU, which believe it or not, smelled even worse! Perhaps it was due to the chicken processing plant directly on the road I had to drive back and forth on for 6 hours that day. Thank you, Cargill.

While I wasn't jealous of the smell that sometimes infiltrates Harrisonburg, I was jealous of the new development at that school. The the downtown is gettin better and the new library is cooler than any one at UVA (besides Alderman, of course). Stuff just lookin good around there. Especially the large number yellow JMU license plates, which help the large number of New Jersey license plates fit in.

That's about all I have from two weeks ago, but I'm sure I'll have more stories about the weeks to come. I am jumping into sewage lines after all.