Sun, Oct. 30th, 2005, 02:41 pm
My Trip

Here is the low-down on my recent trip to Florida:

Saturday 10/22/05
We had a complication before the trip starts. Bekah had bought a neat new I-Pod that could play videos and everything. She went over to AndyÕs to try and fill it up. The time came when she had to leave and come home so we could depart for the airport, so she removed the I-Pod and lost everything she thought she had loaded onto it. She was devastated and reduced to tears. It was very sad. I offered to let her use my .mp3 player on the airplanes.

The flight from Manchester to Atlanta was into a 125 m.p.h. headwind, so it was delayed a bit. I was worried that the jasmine tea I brought for ShelleyÕs parents might be troublesome for security, but thankfully it wasnÕt. I had a window seat. It was rather cramped. IÕm a fairly broad-shouldered man and had to sit with two other broad-shouldered men. They must design aircraft believing that everybody is 5Õ5Ó and 110 pounds. I had a window seat over the left wing. I looked out the window to the east onto the tops of the storm clouds in the northeast. They were absolutely beautiful. What a blessing it is to live in a period of history where I can look down from above on the clouds! What an amazing Creator we have. I also realized that storm clouds arenÕt nearly as gloomy or depressing when viewed from another perspective. IÕll need to remember that as difficulties in my life hit, that He who ordains all that comes to pass view things from a better perspective than I do. On the flight I finished reading I Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah by Ravi Zacharias. I had hetetofore only known him as an apologist, but I found the book to be helpful. I agreed with most, but not all, of it. I started reading The Federal Husband by Doug Wilson, one of more than a half dozen Wilson books I have with me this week (all the other titles I mention will be books written by him.) There were a couple of times during the flight where I was overcome by tears of joy in anticipation of meeting Shelley. (Yes, this was why I was looking forward to the layover in Atlanta more than any other part of the trip.)

I wasnÕt ever nervous on the plane and that really surprised me. I never got that rush of adrenaline in the pit of my stomach like I would before a wrestling match or even like I had when I sent the email to her father. I was very excited but I never got nervous. I remained calm the whole time, knowing that God is sovereign and in control. When I got to the airport, Shelley and her parents were waiting at the gate for us. The gate for our flight to Fort Myers had changed from terminal A to terminal T, so we took the transport to terminal T where our flight would (presumably) depart. Then we decided to eat at ChiliÕs which was back at terminal A, so we took the transport back there. Things really couldnÕt have gone better. Our parents got along and enjoyed each otherÕs company. Shelley is so sweet! She made a banana cream pie, knowing that it was my favorite dessert. She had never made one before and was bold enough to try making one for the first time we met. It was delicious! Not only that, but she was creative enough to figure out a way to transport it from Charlotte to Atlanta while keeping it chilled. A lot of thought went into that. She also brought really cool personalized gifts for my parents and Bekah. My only regret was that our meeting was so brief!

Once we got to Fort Myers, the rental car people were kind of a hassle and we wound up spending a lot more money than we had thought we were going to. NEVER USE DOLLAR RENT-A-CAR!!! When we got to my grandparents' in Punta Gorda it was nearly 2 a.m. My dad had the keys to the rental car in his hands and my mom grabbed for them to do something and they hit the panic button, at 2 a.m. in a retirement community. My grandparents got up to greet us and we visited for a while before going to bed.

Sunday 10/23/05
I woke up and looked for a church to visit. There were a couple of PCUSA churches in Punta Gorda, but since a vast majority of PCUSA churches are liberal, I looked up the PCA website for the nearest PCA church. There was one in North Fort Myers, which was only twenty minutes down the highway. (North Fort Myers Presbyterian Church) I enjoyed the church service and the hospitiality of the congregation. The sermon was faithful to the Word of God. The pastorÕs wife was due to give birth on Friday, but the pulpit supply canceled because of the hurricane. He did an admirable job, especially considering the fact that he hadnÕt planned on preaching this weekend. He and his wife were probably the youngest people in the churchÑjust a little older than me. They were also the best singers of any congregation of any church IÕve ever attended. Four part harmony sung perfectly in tune is very beautiful.

Bekah really got tired out by the trip, so she still wasnÕt up when I got back from church. My mother and I played cards (forty-fives [my favorite card game] and kings in the corner) with my grandparents while Bekah slept and Dad took a nap. My mom and I won both games of forty-fives. After that, I played pool with Bekah and we ate dinner (steak). Then Bekah and I played some more pool and were joined by our parents. The first game we played parents against kids and the parents narrowly won. The second game was Òguys against galsÓ and the guys won an even closer game.

After that I called Shelley. As of today we are officially courting. We talked for a good while. Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Now that we are courting, we are talked through several isssues pertinent to that subject. It was a very productive and very enjoyable night on the phone.

Monday 10/24/05
Well, I can cross riding out a hurricane in Florida off of my lifeÕs to-do list. The brunt of Wilma hit Naples and Everglades City a couple of counties to the south. The Lord preserved and protected us throughout the hurricane. The only damage was to a screen door. The hurricane woke me up around 4:30 a.m. I slept again from 5:30-6:45 and took two naps during the day.

After lunch, I played pool with Bekah. I didnÕt do too well though, because I was also talking with Shelley on my cell phone during her lunch hour as I tried to play.

After dinner, we played cards for a little while. Then my parents, Bekah, and I went to play pool again. This time I played much better. I was on the winning team every game. Then I called Shelley and we talked for a couple hours. When I got home I finished reading The Federal Husband and started reading Her Hand in Marriage.

Tuesday 10/25/05
We got up fairly early and drove over to Winter Park (just NE or Orlando) where Josh goes to school. On the way there we stopped at the Cracker Barrell for brunch. My dad drove on the way down, and I finished reading Her Hand In Marriage during the ride. It was good to see Josh. He was his usual self. We watched his final project for 35mm on DVD. (His edit was better than the one that was chosen for grading.) For lunch (lupper?) we went to UNOÕs. I had a steak sandwich and spilled my ginger ale all over the table. (embarrassed sigh). I forgot to bring my cell phone with me for the trip, so I couldnÕt talk to Shelley at all. After lupper, we went to Walmart for a little while. Then we went back to JoshÕs appartment and caught the second half of an episode of Home Improvement, followed by two episodes of Seinfeld.

Josh had plans to go out with friends at 8 p.m. so we left at seven. I drove home. We made a stop for gas an hour into the trip home and I realized that I had left my laptop at JoshÕs appartment. So we called his cell phone to tell him about my laptop and he reassured me that he had already sold it. Classic Josh humor. The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. We got home fairly late (around 11:00), but I called Shelley anyway. Thankfully, she was still awake. I had just planned to wish her a good night, and the conversation didnÕt seem that long. After I finally said good night, we had been talking for 52 minutes. I fell asleep watching game three of the World Series in the middle of the 10th inning.

Wednesday 10/26/05
I had planned to do some novel writing on Wednesday and Thursday. Without my laptop I needed to find other things to do. I read most of Fidelity over the course of the day, took a couple naps, that sort of thing. I usually call Shelley around lunch time during her lunch break. Today she called me. She had had a horrible first half of the day at work. Her boss flipped out at her and she was really upset. I did everything I could to soothe her hurt. It made me sad (and protective) to hear that she had been mistreated at work. Especially since she was given new responsibilities without proper instruction. After consoling her, I read her a couple of Psalms (17 & 18) and prayed for her over the phone. Despite the horrible cause of it, it was a really special moment for us.

In the afternoon, I wrote Shelley a letter by hand and (ÒsnailÓ) mailed it. (I sent it to her home address, so I knew she wouldnÕt see it until Saturday. [It turns out she still hasn't seen it at the time of this post.]) That evening, I called Shelley, and we talked for a long time. It was a really fun and good conversation and wound up lasting a couple hours. After that, I watched the last couple innings of game four of the World Series. After the final out they showed a replay of the reactions of George (H.W.) Bush and Barbara to the last out. They looked so sad when they realized the runner was called out. It was really cute. After that, I wrote ShelleyÕs parents telling them, among other things, how impressed I am with their daughter.

Thursday 10/27/2005
Another low key day. In the morning, I finished reading Fidelity and started reading My Life for Yours.

In the afternoon, we played some cards and whatnot. I did more reading. I ordered flowers for Shelley that would arrive on Saturday, so she would have them fresh when she got home to her parentsÕ from work. For dinner, my dad made burritos and the Cajun dish Òred beans and rice.Ó Both were fantastic. After dinner my parents, Bekah and I played pool. I didnÕt play nearly as well as I did on Monday night. My mom carried our team. Toward the end, I played a couple games of ping pong with Bekah.

When I got back, I called Shelley. We had a great conversation! We decided to study Colossians and Ruth together, so I led her in a study of Colossians 1:1-14. It went very well. This is a very good way to build a relationship when we donÕt have the privilege of face-to-face contact daily (Incidentally, itÕs also a very good way to build a relationship if you do see each other face-to-face daily.)

Friday 10/28/2005
Today was JoshÕs graduation. We got up, ate a big breakfast that Nana made and left in the late morning for JoshÕs graduation. My grandparents, my parents, Bekah, and I piled into the rental van. We made a stop at a WendyÕs half of the way there. When we got back into the van, Papa did a sudden U-turn and spilled my chili on my sock and my leg. Thankfully, I wasnÕt injured. Otherwise, the ride went without incident.

We had an hour to kill when we got there. And boy, when you have an hour to kill, DennyÕs is the place to kill it good. After a thoroughly mediorcre lunch at DennyÕs we tried to find the proper convention center. The convention center in Orlando is HUGEÑfour buildings that are as big as North Station in Boston. The ceremony went well. Josh received the Course DirectorÕs Award for Pre-Production Casting and a Perfect Attendance Award. He was also nominated for the Achievment Award for his major. ItÕs like a Òmost-likely to succeedÓ thing, and only four people were nominated for it. (He kind of kept this hush-hush, but IÕm proud of him so, IÕm sharing it anyway. HeÕs the man.)

On the way out of the convention center, we went out the wrong door and had to walk all the way around the building. Did I mention how BIG this building was? Then we drove to Winter Park and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant which was pretty good. Then we took Josh home, retrieved my laptop and drove back. There was a lot of traffic around Disney on I-4, which was a pain. When I got back, I talked with my Shelley for a good while. Always a pleasure.

Saturday 10/29/05
Slept in a bit. We got up and ate breakfast. I did some reading. I called Shelley at lunch.

After that I went swimming. (Yes, this was the infamous cell-phone slaughter I mentioned in Saturday's post.) They donÕt respond well to water, in case you were wondering.

We went to dinner at Sam SeltzerÕs, a steakhouse. I had a T-Bone (very good) with chili (as the soup of the dayÑnot as good as DadÕs, but still good), and garlic mashed potatoes (sub-par). For dessert Bekah got ÒChocolate Explosion.Ó She couldnÕt finish it all, so I stepped up to the plate. It was really good.

When I got back, I talked to Shelley on the phone then packed. She was very happy to get my flowers, but she didnÕt get the snail mail.

Sunday 10/30/05
We left for the Ft. Myers airport around 4:10 a.m. Our flight took off at 6:10 and landed in Atlanta at 7:35. Because the flight landed early, we didnÕt need to rush quite so much to make our connection.

The flight from ATL to MHT was in a very small plane. There wasnÕt a cloud in the sky, and we had a relatively low cruising altitude, so I had the opportunity to see the eastern U.S. from above. It was very beautiful. I also spent the time reading most of the rest of My Life For Yours. We landed safely, and I unpacked soon after getting home. (Always an accomplishment.)



All in all, this was probably the best family vacation weÕve had. Everybody got along well for the most part. I had a lot of fun with Bekah, and we were able to spend a good deal of time together. As anticipated the climax of the vacation was, in fact, the layover in the Atlanta airport on the way down.

Mon, Nov. 7th, 2005, 11:20 am
"It's an IQ test"

When I told Allan Jones and David Booth that I was interested in a Southern girl, David said, "You know, I have a feeling that you'll end up living in the South if you get married."

Allan (who is Southern) replied, "You kidding me?! If you have your choice between living north or south of the Mason-Dixon, it's an IQ test."

Suffice it to say, my courtship with Shelley is progressing very well, and it's already time to start thinking about that stuff. Last week I was thinking wedding in NC and living in NH at least for a few months after being married because it would be easier for me to establish myself up here. Today I woke up early and looked for appartments in the Salem-Manchester-Nashua area. In most cases, a studio appartment started at $600 and a 1 bedroom started at around $750. These were fairly low-end appartments. I could conceivably afford $800 a month or so if I worked full time at Flightline. After checking out the classifieds on the local newspapers, I did some Google searching and found a site called "rent.com." I continued looking in New Hampshire and found more of the same--the appartments that looked nice cost too much and the ones that I can afford are either studios or in bad neighborhoods or shoddy or tiny. Then,for the heck of it,I looked at Cary, NC (where Shelley goes to church, but a couple of hours from where her parents live) and found better appartments than the ones up north for an average of $200 less per month. In the nature of the case, at least one of us would need to move far away from home because we live 800 miles away. I really don't want to move away from my friends, especially Joe and Martin, but I could support Shelley for a fraction of the cost. With my driving record, I could easily work a job at a UPS or something. I would be able to work less to support Shelley and have more time to spend with her and more time for my writing. I haven't made my final decision yet, but it would just strike me as foolish to spend that much money and time just to live up North. As a writer I can live anywhere, so why not choose the cheapest place possible? If I brought Shelley back up North I would pretty much need to put my hope of being a successful writer on the back burner to support her, and I still wouldn't have much time for my friends. Down South I could have the best of two out of three worlds.

Like Allan said, "It's an IQ test."

Current Mood: contemplative

Sun, Nov. 13th, 2005, 12:48 am I am engaged!

I am now engaged to the most wonderful woman in the world. I proposed to Shelley on Saturday night the 12th, and she said "yes" after a wonderful night out at the Kingston 1686 House. I love her and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her. Our wedding date is set for January 21st in her hometown of Concord, North Carolina. That's about it for now. I'll post more about it later.

Current Mood: smooey

Sat, Jan. 7th, 2006, 02:35 am Last day of Flightlne

Tonight (Friday night, early Saturday) was my last night at Flightline. I have enjoyed the job and hope to find something I like at least as much in North Carolina.

Speaking of which:

-I'm moving some of my stuff down to NC on Monday and taking my Saturn down there. Then I will take the van of the in-laws-to-be back to NH and moving down the rest of my stuff, especially big stuff like my bed, drum set, etc.

-We'll almost certainly be living in a house in Angier, NC. It's a little remote, but it'll do for the time being.

-I need to close my bank account up here (Banknorth is regional) and open a new account, most likely at Bank of America.

-I need to change my oil.

-I need to get gifts for my groomsmen and for Shelley.

-I need to thank the Lord for providing Shelley for me. Two weeks to go! I can't wait to see her.

Current Mood: Not sure