After work I did some more tidy up around my room. I checked the American Airlines web site to see when Sarah's flight was due in, and it appeared to be coming in early, so off to the airport I dashed. Note to self for future reference: condoms (or at least condom wrappers) set off airport security metal detectors.

Anyway, I found Sarah's gate easily, bought a bottle of water, and waited for her flight to unload. I was a little concerned as to whether I would recognise Sarah, as it had been a good six years since I last saw her. As it turned out, she hasn't changed much at all; I recognised her immediately. We picked up her baggage (not a lot - she travels very light) and we headed home.

We got back to the apartment and I introduced Sarah to roommate Sarah and Alice. We all chatted for a bit and then went to bed.

3 May

Although I have a guest in town, I still have work to do, so off to work I go. The day is moderately productive.

After work is the first of this season's operas. I would normally be taking Lauren, of course, but since Sarah is in town, I'm taking her. Lauren will see the opera on Sunday (sorry).

The opera, Otello was very entertaining. Minimalist stage. Outstanding aria in the third act from Desdemona.

4 May

Today at work we had a contingent from New Zealand, in particular the Engineering Manager and the Product Strategy Manager. Most of the day was pretty useful; if the procedures we decided on are put in place then it's use will be proven.

I was late out of work, and ended up taking Sarah for dinner at the Local. John and Charlotte turned up a little later. Sarah met a few of the locals, many of whom had been at Music Midtown. Lauren popped over for a drink and then the five of us went on up to the Vault.

The Vault was a little quiet, but it was rather fun. Charlotte had become somewhat inebriated, but had great fun dancing. Lauren and I had a great little chat. John and Charlotte decided that they wanted to go home, and since I had driven them, I had to go to. However, it wasn't until I got home that I realised (courtesy of a call from Lauren) that I had Lauren's keys. Oops. So back to the club I went.

5 May

Charlotte went off to Akido class today, and took a long time to get back. As a result, we all had a late brunch. But it was good, as the Radial Cafe always is. I invited Lauren along, too, but she was still in need of sleep from last night. Heheh.

We dropped the bits and pieces back at the apartment, and then we went to retrieve John's car from the Local. We gave Charlotte and Sarah the responsibility of driving John's car to pick up food from Harry's while John and I collected alcohol from Green's. We picked up a case of Bass (along with two free beer glasses) and a bottle of tequila that was recommended by one of the staff.

For dinner, Charlotte made shish kebabs (sp?) and vegetables. This was very tasty, and we drank beer and tequila. We also watched Being John Malkovich as neither of the girls had seen it. Then I watched SNL and everyone else went to bed. Sarah and Alice stopped in just before the end of SNL and had a beer, and just after I went to bed, Lauren called, demanding to know where I was. My claims of tiredness were not acceptable to Lauren, but she ultimately acquiesced, with me acknowledging that I was a big baby girl. :-)

6 May

7 May

I took today off work, but that didn't stop either the pages nor the phone calls. Ah well. I was able to go back to bed and sleep for a little while after each disturbance.

With the day off, I took Sarah to the Cyclorama, to view the largest oil painting in the world - a painting, in the round, of a scene from the Battle of Atlanta, in the American Civil War. It was interesting, although the guide really needed a lesson or two in public speaking. Oh well.

Next, we went for lunch at the Cabbage Town Grill. This is a tasty little place. They were out of tuna, which prevented me from having the marinated tuna sandwich, but the portabello mushroom quesadilla was pretty good instead. After lunch, we went back to the apartment, where I rested for a bit and did some laundry, and Sarah went for a wander down town.

Charlotte came over again for dinner, and she and Charlotte used up the last few days leftovers in a really tasty lasagna and salad. Definitely very impressed, but it was late and I had an early start the next day, so it was off to bed for me.

8 May

Ugh. Alarm fires at 05:15. Ugh. Shower. Pack everything into my briefcase and off to the airport. Check in and find the gate. And then it's off to Memphis in an old DC-9. Ugh.

Now at Memphis. Wait for an hour to board a little twin prop jobbie for a flight to Laurel/Hattiesburg airport, which I believe serves Meridian, MS. Good grief. Today is going to be a long day.

We got off at the wrong stop, and so we had a 45 minute drive to the meeting. After the meeting (which went pretty well), it was another drive back to the airport and then a flight on twin-prop to Memphis and then onto an Airbus to New Orleans.

9 May

After Trivia, Sarah, John, and I went over to Nomenclature, and Tim came with us.

10 May

11 May

Another vacation day, spent preparing for tonight's party, and doing other odd chores, such as ordering cable again.

The party was amazing. Me, Sarah and John got started early. Charlotte got dressed up like Lara Croft. Alice and Sarah had loads of fun. Ron molested the pinata. I had a subparty in my room. And I got a hug from Grace.

12 May

I awoke with a body next to me. This is always good. I was feeling rough, though.

Had a late lunch with Stacy (and I brought Sarah too). Enchiladas - yum. Texas Margaritas - yum.

Sarah, Tim and I went to see Kalina in a production of Romeo and Juliet somewhere in Roswell. This was entertaining. Afterwards, we picked up Lauren and went to The Vault. Woohoo. This was much fun. After the Vault we went to the City Cafe for some food and then I dropped everyone home.

13 May

I think I had alcohol poisoning from Friday. I feel bad.

14 May

Okay, Monday. Cable is going to be reinstalled on the 6th of June. How will we cope until then? Ugh! Then it was off to Savannah.

When we got to Savannah, we stopped at the visitors center and took a ride on a tour bus thing that went around most of the old city and explained stuff about the various buildings. This was very cool. The city is really very beautiful.

Then we found ourselves a hotel (just a Day's Inn, nothing special). We wandered up through the City Market area to have dinner at The Lady and Sons. This was very tasty.

After dinner we wandered down to River Street, checking out the bars and touristy shops.

15 May

Today we wandered around the streets that we bussed around yesterday. We stopped in at a few places and also took a number of photos.

We had lunch at the Savannah Grill, and then went for a drive to the 8th Air Force Memorial Museum.

For dinner we went to the Pirate's House. I was disappointed in the amount of fish that was available, but I did have the swordfish.

16 May

Time to head up the Atlantic Coast: first stop Hilton Head.

Unfortunately I got paged to come back to work to sort out some problems that could have been handled from there. Oh well. I got a speeding ticket coming back, too: 81mph in a 60mph zone.

Once I got back, I dropped Sarah off at Trivia and went in to work. I spent a couple of hours there, sorting stuff out, and then went to Nomenclature for a much-needed drink. Oh hell was it much needed. Crispin made me a very pleasant variation on a Kamikaze; it didn't do me in, but it did me nicely.

17 May

Very tired, from diving and so forth, so I spent the day relaxing at home, reading. Very pleasant.

Tim joined us for dinner at Los Palmeros and then we went on down to the Local.

18 May

The tour proper started up in the charcoal making area. Maple charcoal is used in the filtration process for Old Number 7. After getting a brief talk about how the charcoal is made and the dangers involved, we wandered down to the spring from which is obtained the pure water that goes into the whisky. There is a tiny little grotto, with a statue of Mr Daniel in front, and the water comes up from a cave. In the grotto the temperature is a constant 56°F (13°C). The temperature outside the grotto, in the sun, was much warmer, probably about 80°F (26°C). The transition was amazing. One of the other tour member took a photo of Sarah and I with Jack.

From the grotto we wandered to the little office where Mr Daniel ran the company, and where he obtained the injury that cost him his life. Then we wandered through the distillery itself, checking out the vats in which the corn, barley, rye and yeast are mixed and fermented. We also saw the distilling areas where the alcohol is extracted from the resultant mash. The next part was really good - the filtration process, where the 140-proof alcohol is filtered through the aforementioned charcoal in huge vats. At this point, the tour guide got us to put our noses up to the airgap at the top of the vats and told us to breathe deeply while he lifted and fanned the lid. Wow - a whiff of pure alcohol straight in one's nose. Got a nice little buzz off that. And the tour guide made sure our Baptist friends also did, heheh.

Next stop was the bottling area and then back through the aging warehouse, where the barrels of Jack are aged in chared oak casks. That warehouse also had a great aroma.

The final stop was the bar, where we were served a glass of cool lemonade - Lynchburg is in a dry county, so no alcohol could be served t us. The distillery has a diepensation so that they can sell no more than two bottles of product from a tiny little store on site. So I bought myself a bottle. I don't think this one is for drinking...

Billy needed a ride home, but he didn't want to go back to his apartment and face his (um, psycho?) roommate, so I let him stay over here. That was okay, because Sarah had letf a message to say that she was going to crash over at Tim's. Billy and I had a beer on the poarch for crashing out. What a long night.

19 May

Sarah arrived home before Billy or I had arisen, so she pottered around, reading the paper, etc. She was going to go to the baseball game with Tim, so Billy and I arranged to be picked up by Lauren (my car was still at the Local) and then go eat at Cabbagetown Grille. Yummy food, and a pitcher (or two) of Bass. Very good way to spend the afternoon.

20 May

Up early to take Sarah to the airport, so she can continue her long journey to Halifax. It was good to have her stay.

21 May

First day back at work. I hate that. But this I don't hate: I have my new car!

After work, I drove the new car (with Jason and Terance) up to Charlotte, North Carolina. The car went well, and then we ate well.

22 May

We had a long meeting today with one of our clients in Charlotte, NC. Afterwards I drove back to Atlanta. I have put the first 550 miles on my car in two days. Scary.

When I got back, I went down to the Lcoal for a drink. John joined be directly from a closing he had. We didn't stay out too late.

23 May

Okay. Went to Local and lost Trivia. Had long discussion with Charlotte about religion in schools. Went to Nomenclature. Went to MJQ. Michele's new haircut is really cute.

24 May

Had to get up and go into work early today as there had was a slight failure overnight. Got it all sorted though. I worked slightly later than normal as well. So it was a long day.

25 May

Overslept slightly. John and Charlotte were still preparing for their trip to Panama City.

After work I came home and toodled round for a little bit before heading over to Paula's place. My new car makes the drive much more enjoyable.

Charlie and Deann were already there (Charlie had spent the week there, doing odd jobs around the place - becoming very domesticated - he'd kill me if he knew I had written that...) and they had just finished watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Paula showed me all the work that she had done to the house in the last several months. The place looks good. We came back inside and Deann and I watched Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, just because that was what was on. Very silly.

Paula and Charlie had put together a fantastic lasagna for dinner, which was served with salad and garlic bread. Yum yum yum. Oh, and a glass or two of red wine. After dinner we watched A Clockwork Orange, which Deann had not seen before. I think she enjoyed it.

When the movie was over, we watched TV. I fell asleep for a bit, and when I woke up it was just Deann and I on the couch and I was answering Jeopardy questions (it was on TV). Weird. We then watched Wheel of Fortune before deciding it was time to pull out the futon and go to sleep.

Aside: I've just started taking B-complex multivitamins (anything to reduce stress and ensure I get the nutrients I need is a good thing) and my urine has changed to a brighter colour. Aren't health foods funny?

26 May

I woke up a couple of times, but at 10:30 I was really awake, so I got up and collected all my bits and pieces (although it looks like I may have left one of my pagers at Paula's), and said goodbye to Deann (Paula and Charlie had still not yet arisen). Rather than going straight home, I picked up Lauren and we went to Radial Cafe for breakfast (yummy Radial omelette).

After breakfast, we decided that it was too beautiful of a day to go straight home so we stopped off at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and wandered around the gardens for half an hour or so. This was decided pleasant: there were flags, and there were shrubs, and there were roses (some with bugs), and there was a Japanese garden, and there was a big pond with birds and insects and fish. We saw a really cool bird with pinkish bits at the base of the wings. And there was a great big dragonfly type insect. And coolest of all were the two guys fishing in the pond.

Oh, there was a sundial, too. But it was a few minutes slow. Then it was hometime, to do things like shower, laundry, clean, udpate journal, etc...

Tonight was the final night of Cyberia at the Vault. Lauren and I convinced Brad to both drive and pay the tab. Afterwards we went to the City Cafe for breakfast. I don't remember lots of the night...

27 May

I eventually went over to Lauren's and we ran around collecting supplies (and Heather - who is not a supply but is a super-fun person) and then charging over to the Hilton for some Rock Star Hotel Action. Suffice it to say that the evening (especially after Scott arrived) was much fun and brain cells were probably lost. Isn't it fun to be a rock star?

28 May

Eventually we arose and returned the hotel room to some semblance of its original state and then headed for the cars. From the hotel we made our way to Starbuck's so the coffee drinkers (everyone except me) could get their fix and then we zoomed over to Heather's house.

I got home and caught up with Sara and Alice and their weekend. Then we went down to the Local for dinner. Yummy - barbecue chicken.

John and Charlotte eventually came home and shared with us their adventures in Panama City. Sounds like they had plenty of fun. Then we all watched Priscilla: Queen of the Desert becuase Charlotte had not seen it. I skipped the first part to call Deann and IM people. All good fun.

29 May

Ah, going back to work after a long weekend of debauchery isn't much fun; no matter how long the weekend is, it just isn't long enough...And then you go on call.

After work I met up with Lauren at Buckhead Backlight to see A Knight's Tale. This was a fun but silly film based (very) loosely on the Knight's Tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It was enjoyable, but don't go looking for anything deep in it, nor anything historically accurate. If you do, you will hate it and consider it a load of crap. Which it might actually be. But we liked it. Lauren liked it more than I did, I think. That might be because of Heath Whatshisname. And the soundtrack. Crazy soundtrack.

30 May

Trivia at the Local with The Power Puff Drunks. We fought a pretty good game, coming in third at the end of the first half and fourth prior to the final question. And we had the correct answer for the final question. Well, we did until we changed it at the last minute and kissed goodbye second place. Oh well, such is life. Then it was home for an early night.

31 May

Too many pages. Not enough sleep.

Today Peter offered me the chance to migrate my current role from technical sales to product strategy and design. I like this concept; it gives me something a little more concrete to aim for. It will be a difficult job, but I'll give it some thought.