If you actually read this and expected to find out about what happened to me since May, you'd obviously be a poorly informed person. Well, that is before now.

Meh.

Luckily I still exist, live, breathe and all around am not dead. There are some mornings... but that happens every so often to everyone.

So yes, I did come home for the summer. It was pretty decent for the trips between Maine and Texas I've done, but it was crazy in some respects. As always it took about a week for the trip and sightseeing. I took a slightly different route saw different places and parts of the country. Leaving was interesting since it was essentially only half-planned. It was under the cover of darkness on a wet Saturday evening. I made it to New York by daybreak and stopped in Richmond, Virginia just after midday. Just over 12 hours of driving while barely awake, so it was pretty much the usual when it comes to my way of traveling.

My favorite digital camera (so far) and cell phone in one fell swoop. How does that happen, ye ask?

Keep a water bottle screwed at an odd angle while it slowly dribbles into the change tray where you placed both pieces of tech just moments before. Look down five minutes later and see both sitting in a small pool of water. Anger ensues in short order.

But it wouldn't be a trip worth talking about without a story like that, right? Anyway it was also nice to catch up with an old friend of mine who ended up in South Carolina, which was one of my stops. Swapping stories with someone else who managed to make it out of your town is always fun. Soon after, I made it home, all in one piece and with a new half-tan!

From here it has been pretty much somewhat of a routine and a dull one at that. First week I was back and the phone was replaced, though the camera wasn't. The digital one I'm using now has kinda been in storage for a while and it actually uses mini CDs for storage. Plus the old film camera I've had for years... I'm using it again! I'm starting to use it more and more primarily for black and white photos, and I finally intend on doing the urban decay photo essay in Port Arthur sometime next week!

Closer to home, oh sure... I've been able to hang out with more of my old friends and reminisce and have the kind of fun I used to have before moving out of town. The longer I stay however, it becomes easier and easier to see why I moved. It really has nothing to do with the area per se, but rather something I've written about before: Independence. It is great to come back and visit during the holidays and everything since it's fresh to me and something's usually different. Come to think of it, I'm a wee bit more reclusive then so there's obviously more "me" time involved. At any rate it's a great experience since it's like you're getting a bit of a vacation. Doing it daily over an extended period is another story entirely. Yes, I've been able to do a few day trips since I've been back, but I just feel like I should be back in Maine.

I didn't abandon my job or anything else there. I was able to leave at the end of May as my lease ended at 12PM on the 31st of the month. I'd been hesitant about moving out earlier (though I wanted to) since the security deposit would've been lost, and as a result I'm $635 richer for not leaving ahead of time. Much of my crap is actually still in a storage building in South Portland, awaiting my grand return. The rest came home with me. When it comes to the jobby; I had a fairly long discussion with my supervisor and spoke about my aspirations and concerns and thankfully I had a fair hearing with some latitude. I was able to pick up my check and leave without having the door close behind me. I still have a job in New Hampshire if I want it. I'm considering all my options though.

More exciting lately is the prospect of working with my former mentor and News Director from a few years back. In a series of events that seems incredible, but if you know anything about the industry really isn't, he became somewhat of a free agent again. Today we're working on putting together a service that produces local newscasts for radio stations throughout the country. Starting small, we do have a business plan in place and several stations in two states have at least an interest in the service. Right now, we're working on putting together another demo, but really... something like that is what I was looking for even a few years ago. A job where the only things I need are my laptop, a mic and an internet connection? I'd kill for that!

And in all honesty, I've sincerely missed the shoptalk and gossip during work.

This would also accomodate the fact that I've been sorting through folders from several community colleges, deliberating over where to pick based on courses and credit transfers, eventually transferring the whole into a state or private one just down the line.

The plans are several years old, but they're still there and I intend on following them through. I always do... MWAHAHAHA!!!!