See how you are?
Deep down, I always knew you were like this. But today, you proved it. While there's still something like 25 minutes to go before midnight, the past 23 hours and 35 minutes of my 17th birthday have passed without so much as a card in my mailbox or an electronic greeting card, no IMs telling me how grand it is to be 17, a thumbs up for living to this ripe old age, nothing. Certainly, it may not be special to you, but consider this: the average life expectancy of a duck is only 2-3 years, tops. And that assumes a hunter's sights don't bear down on you while flying over one of those stupid, poorly camouflaged shacks. While not technically a card, at least my newest buddy, Manda, sent me a quick note today. It's nice to know there's at least one person out there in this big, cruel world who cares...
    :::   02.27.04 @ 11:34 PM Pacific Time [link]   :::

Home again, but...
... it just doesn't feel the same. Something's missing, but I'm not quite sure what. I already checked the place out to make sure all my stuff was here, and all of Tubby's stuff was equally undisturbed. (Not that there's much of a risk of theft or fire to a collection of cans of SPAM Luncheon Meat, and who in their right mind is going to try and carry off a collection of LEGO bricks that dates back to the Carter administration?) But the sense of the place is different, colder. And colder has nothing to do with the cheapskate's keeping the thermostat at 58ºF (14ºC). There's been lots of talk lately of expanding Frank Operations to regional offices (something in the Midwest, or the South, or the New England states, or one in each). I'm ready for another trip just hours after getting home, but the desire to come back here, status quo, just isn't tip-top on my list of things to do. Why is that?
    :::   02.26.04 @ 11:49 PM Pacific Time [link]   :::

Greetings from the Big Easy!
After an intense (but rather pleasant, I thought) 41 or so hour drive, door to door, from my nest to Meridian, Mississippi, the bulk of the driving was over. The new day was greeted with a new member of Frank's Chicks, Manda, and we voyaged to New Orleans about 24 hours ago now. Since then, we've been on Bourbon Street twice (no one told me about that stuff!), and watched one parade. The rain has been alternating between nothing, a light mist, and a heavy downpour, and this morning we were on a tornado alert from the national weather service ("..go to a first floor room like a closet or bathroom, and stay there.") We're in the midst of arguing about what to do tonight, but you can keep track of the trips, updates, and pictures (nudge nudge, wink wink) all from the Mardi Gras 2004 page. Whee!
    :::   02.23.04 @ 05:22 PM Pacific Time [link]   :::