i could not conceive of anything i desired less, than to go to nashville. it would be a 'quick' trip, 10 hours down on friday, 10 hours back on saturday, and i was not looking forward to that, nor to the goodbyes that would have to be made.
for reasons of her own, also relating to an emotion filled goodbye, but also to some home improvement necessities, mom had entreated me to go in her place, not wanting dad to have the 10 hour drive back to himself. i acquiesced, partially as a result of knowing that my 'plan' this fall would require the two of them to care for my dog for an extended amount of time. i was paying down an upcoming debt.
friday morning, the loading of the rental van was completed, and the four of us began our journey. watching mom say goodbye to kendyl was heartbreaking, and i knew my own farewell would come far too soon. but it was not to be avoided, and i truly do believe that this move is a good one, and that they will both have an opportunity to fluorish.
dad and i have always road tripped well, in part, as a result of our similar interests in books on tape..or in this case, books on ipod. on this trip, we would be accompanied by orson scott card's 'enders game.' scott is a family friend, and neither of us had read his most well known work, so it seemed a good opportunity. is an audiobook cheating? i still haven't decided. in cases such as this, it is a necessity, but since it requires the same amount of imagination, and assuming the version is unabridged, i think that i don't think it is cheating.
at any rate, the journey was made with only a couple of stops. our lunch in pulaski ended up wreaking havoc on both mine and kate's system, but other than that, the drive was uneventful. kendyl dealt with the long journey quite impressively, with the lunch stop being the only one of any significance. we took the opportunity to have some play time, some chasing, and some tree climbing. then it was back to the cars for the remainder of the trip.
we arrived in nashville--or more specifically brentwood--at about 9:00pm. kate went ahead to the apartment while dad and i checked in at the hotel, and stopped at sonic for a late dinner and some delicious shakes.
we then headed over to the apartment. we found it without too much trouble, and i was impressed. the complex is extremely nice, and the apartment quite spacious. at nearly 3 years old, this will be the first time kendyl will have a room of her own. i don't think she quite understands the trade off just yet, but i think that is probably for the best.
dad, kate, kate's roommate vicki, and i then began the unpacking. with the four of us, it didn't take too long, although it was a humid night. dad and i were quickly on our way back to the hotel after the van was unloaded, and sleep was not far behind.
saturday morning, i awoke with plans of spending time at the hotel pool for a couple of hours, but was dismayed to realize that it would be inthe shadow of the building until too late. as such, after dad and i had breakfast, we headed over to the apartment where i spent an hour lounging by kate's fabulous pool, while they went to purchase a new mattress, since the van would be instrumental in it's transport.
kendyl seemed to have passed her first night 'all by herself' without incident, although that could have had something to do with the exhaustion we all felt.
when the mattress group returned, dad brought kendyl to me as i was departing from the pool, and we all returned to the apartment for goodbyes. i felt no desire to linger or postpone, but when when we told kendyl we had to go, and she responded by saying 'no, i don't want you to,' we were both nearly done in. she obviously did not truly understand, and in that moment, she simply meant that she wanted us to stay and play, but the 'big picture' was very clear to the rest of us. we gave hugs and kisses and were on our way.
back to the hotel, we showered, packed up and checked out. the trip home would take us through the rest of 'ender's game', which we both enjoyed, despite the fact that neither of us are real sci-fi fans. the drive was uneventful. the van echoed with emptiness, which somehow seemed symbolic to me. we arrived home shortly after midnight, quickly unloaded our overnight baggage and were off to bed.
sunday morning was the first sunday morning i can recall, that i was not awoken by the sound of laughing or crying from beneath. i can't tell you how many times i wished that i could have slept longer, but kendyl was up, and she wanted everyone to know it. i would have given anything to have had a reason to lodge that complaint again.
the remainder of the day proved more eventful than anticipated. i received a call from a friend and co-worker who had been attempting to contact me throughout the weekend, and i finally answered.
she had news that my newish boss (you'll recall that my manager and vice president have both departed within the last month and a half or so) had 'resigned'. truth be told, no one had ever bothered to tell me he was my new boss. i had assumed, and rightly so, but the communication was lacking. he was brought on a few months ago--recruited heavily from another company by our former ceo--and though a very nice man, he had frustrated me to no end, and i had serious questions about his intelligence. just last week i was spouting his idiocy, so this actually came as a somewhat pleasant surprise.
though official word is that of resignation, his 'resignation' seems to have come simultaneously with his departure from the company. no two weeks, and no announcement until this morning, which simply said that he had decided to 'pursue other opportunities.' so basically, he was fired.
though i have had questions about our new ceo, this raises his stock in my book. he was quickly able to ascertain the incompetence and do something about it. i can appreciate that.
i spent the evening watching indulgent netflixes...the covenant (which is worth watching for the eye candy ladies--steven strait, and taylor kitsch, the resident friday night lights hottie), and 'stealth'. both were, okay. neither stellar, which was exactly what i expected. ironically, my last two indulgences pleasantly surprised me...'john tucker must die', and 'music and lyrics', which had received criticism from friends, and thereby created low expectations. low expectations are the key to pleasant surprises!
while enjoying my mindless flicks..i began searching for a new blog template, as it was clear that despite all your political correctness, you did not like the last one. for the record, i loved it, and i probably look at it more than you do (although i should probably not admit that!) but, i aim to please, so i hope you will find this more appealing.
this week promises to be...interesting. i have an event on thursday, that the recently 'resigned' human capital officer (i know, right?) was playing a lead role in, so there is some quick adjusting that needs to be done. sleeping in until 11:30 this morning (i was apparently exhausted) did not help, but then again, i had some motivation to be extremely productive today. maybe i should adopt this new schedule permanently...particularly as there is no one left to complain about it;)
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