Highlights from Chapel Hill

Thursday, October 16, 2008:

Skip and I finally figured out how to edit some video and he posted it to multiple sites, such as YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, and others. That fine camera work (OK, the first footage going up the Washington Monument is a little rough, I admit, but it was my first day behind the camera) is by yours truly.

Friday, October 17, 2008:

I am taking a break from being a vegetarian for the next few months for the following reasons ( feel free to debate their validity):

1. Skip takes care of the meals and we have completely different tastes. It's more practical to eat where he is eating rather than trying to find a place where they serve vegetarian fare.
2. I could always cook or prepare my food, but there is not enough time in the day.
3. It's The South, where most rural cuisine consists of cow, pig, chicken, deer, opossum, rabbit, squirrel, or groundhog meat.
4. I will be in Europe soon and I know that if I set foot on German soil I will be enjoying weiswurst within that same hour.

I made this decision at Biscuitville, outside of Chapel Hill, where I sat down to the fried pork biscuit covered in gravy (the gravy was extra). When we fall, we fall hard; go big or go home.

still Friday, October 17, 2008:

I heard someone somewhere say that luck is just probability taken personally. But even as a mathematician, Skip wonders WTF? As the more spiritual of the two travelers, I believe destiny has come in play. Let me explain:

A few days before, I received a phone call from Bee that there was another walker passing through South Carolina, and he was going to be in a public place for a few hours signing his book. When she casually mentioned that his name was BJ Hill, my ears perked. I asked her, "Weren't we in AmeriCorps with a 'BJ Hill'?" She stopped a moment and said, "No; do you think?" Readers, it is the very same BJ Hill that Bee and I were both in the AmeriCorps program with years ago. Bj is walking from California to Boston (the exact same opposite direction as Skip) with a book that people from all over the nation are signing with messages to our next president. With a little research, we found out that BJ and Skip are going to be in Charlotte at the same time. Now, the probability of two walkers, whom I both know, being in the same city, at the same time, is weird enough, but there are other coincidences that cause one to wonder about the metaphysical fabric of this human experience. For one, both Skip and BJ taught TEFL and ESL courses. OK, not that weird. But, they also seem to have a preoccupation (in Skip's case read: obsession) with Superman. It makes me want to read more Jung and his thoughts on the collective consciousness.

Saturday, October 18, 2008:

Skip and I saw W. this day. As a movie, I would say it was alright--2 1/2 stars out of 4. As a biopic, especially as an Oliver Stone film, I have to take it with a grain of salt. I almost had some sympathy for W., brilliantly portrayed by Josh Brolin. The most unsettling factors for me in the film were W.'s faith--someone who believes he has almost a divine right to be President of the United States--and the portrayal of W.'s administrative cabinet. Richard Dreyfuss's Cheney is haunting, but Rice's portrayal is almost comical, more an impersonation than a portrayal. I would recommend it as a rental or a place in the top 60 of your Netflix queue.

Later in the evening Skip and I went into Raleigh for a Couchsurfing meet & greet. It was fun; there were about seven of us around a table at an Irish pub-type place, talking about CSing and Skip's trip. The highlight of the evening for me was looking across the street where models stood in the window of a vintage shop, modeling hipster bridesmaid dresses. They reminded me of the last scene of Secretary, when Maggie Gyllenhaal is wearing her black dress and is getting some post-nuptial consummating while bound to a tree. Hot.

Sunday, October 19, 2008:

Skip and I met up with a friend at the Weaver St. Market in Carrboro, NC, for brunch. It was a beautiful fall day and we spent hours there chatting and listening to the Latin music performers.

Later in the afternoon, I met up with another of my friends from AmeriCorps, Andeliene, at the Open Eye Cafe. We sat and chatted and went back and forth between work until we were hungry and went to grab a bite to eat at The Spotted Dog, where even Skip tried the vegan "chicken" wings (he didn't care for them). We then went over to The Southern Rail to finish some work and have some libations before each of us went out separate ways. My way was with Scottie, another friend from here, whom I roamed the streets of Carrboro and Chapel Hill with until past 2 in the morning.

Monday, October 20, 2008:

Skip and I were supposed to get back on the road, but it didn't happen. Instead, we met again for brunch at the Weaver St. Market, and then went back over to the Open Eye cafe to try and get some work done for Charlotte later in the week.

In the evening I went to a meeting, where I met another documentary filmmaker who recently won some recognition at Cannes. She gave me a copy of her film, we traded info., and then I went out with some people for a few slices of pizza at a local place. When I came out of the pizzeria, my car was on the bed of a tow truck. In order for me not to have it towed and pay the entire cost of towing, I bribed the driver to let it down, drive away, and forget about the whole thing.