Atlanta Tea Party

THE PARTY IS ON FOR FRIDAY at HIGH NOON!

COME JOIN US AT THE GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL for the ATLANTA TEA PARTY!

Please RSVP by sending an email to southernbelleblog@gmail.com or by commenting on her blog.

Also, check out these other folks who will be holding similar rallies across the nation - last I checked, the list was around 50 different events.

Top Conservatives on Twitter
Smart Girl Politics
DontGo Movement
Americans for Tax Reform
The Heartland Institute
American Spectator Magazine
FaceBook Event page
Nationwide Chicago Tea Party


As for the clip that started it...

Jet funny

I needed a laugh, because lately whenever I hear anything political I want to gouge out my eyes with a rusty pair of scissors.

One quick year

I started in my new job one year ago, as of tomorrow. It's hard to believe it's already been one year and at the same time it feels like I've been here forever.

A lot's changed, I guess, since last February.

On this date last year:

• Hillary Clinton was still leading Barack Obama in the primary race, heading into Pennsylvania.
• Starbucks shut down for three hours in the middle of the afternoon to "re-train" baristas - most of which are now probably out of a job.
• The Dow had shaved 10% off its highs from 2007, to close at 12,694. Don't you miss those days?
• Oil traded around $100 a barrel. We don't miss those days.
• The movie industry fretted about the lowest-rated Oscars EVAH.
• William F. Buckley, Jr. died. Thankfully, it was before his son became an Obama shill.
• Pres. Bush announced tax rebates in the form of $600 for every taxpayer and $300 for every dependent claimed. Checks would be sent out as lump-sums beginning in May - compared to a $13/week bump in your withholding which amounts to $400/taxpayer.
• In Atlanta, the AJC proclaimed home sales were bottoming out. Oops.
• Geraldine Ferraro plays the race card.
• Welcoming our new killer robot overlords.

I probably missed a bunch. Hey, it was my first day. It was a busy day.

Done, but not the way it was planned

I decided to try and work out somewhat today, probably after my class tonight. However, after this afternoon, I think I've already met the requirement for today.

For the first workout in the couch-to-5K plan I referenced last week, one should alternate 90 seconds of walking with 60 seconds of jogging, for 20 minutes (eight reps in all).

Let's see how well we measured up:

Five-minute warm-up walk.	Park Car in M Deck on GSU Campus.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk to corner to cross street, Run across street as light changes to the Bookstore to exchange books, into the Student Center, and up to the desk to try and sell books from last term.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk out of Student Center after being able to sell back only 1 of 6 books. Run across street again.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk down Courtland St. to the other independent bookstore. Run to and across street when light at Edgewood begins to turn.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk out of bookstore when they offer crappy prices, back to garage. Run up stairs.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Drop off books, get briefcase from car. Walk to stairs, run down stairs.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk a block, then curse self and slap self on forehead for forgetting the blue book for tonight’s test. Run back to garage, run up stairs, run back to car, get blue book.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk away from car, with blue book, and walk down stairs. Run across Woodruff Park to avoid gathering hordes.
Five-minute cool-down walk	Walk into Tin Drum Café, park on a stool, and wolf down shrimp pad thai as the one big meal for today.

Well, at least I did some working out and ate healthy, even if it wasn't what I planned. I think that's enough for today, though.

Test coming up tonight, last one before Spring Break. Hoping for the best.

New beginning

If you've been out and about today, you've probably already seen folks with smudges on their foreheads.

Hopefully, you haven't reacted to them like Ted Turner did toward some of his employees.

Yes, with Mardi Gras yesterday, we now enter the Lenten Season with Ash Wednesday. For Catholics, Lent is supposed to be a time of spiritual reflection and personal penitence. I'm reprinting some of the details here, but for a full writeup, click away.

• Abstinence The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.


• Fasting The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.


• Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other times.

So, based on that, I've decided to really move ahead on what I wrote last week and make exercise/working out my penance for Lent. Instead of stopping something or giving up something, I've decided to start doing something I really should be doing if I want to be able to get around better and be healthier overall. Now's a good time to start.

I guess that means going to IHOP yesterday for their free pancake fundraiser for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta was my last hurrah.

At least it was for a good cause.

Hope! Change! A little less of it

I've finally decided to go on hiatus from writing over at Examiner. I haven't been writing very much, and given how little time I've really had for anything else lately, I needed to scale back a little bit.

Can't scale back school.

Can't scale back work.

Won't scale back kid and family time.

Have to sleep and eat.

That pretty much rules out time for anything, let alone writing 3-4 pieces a week per column for games and/or politics in addition to anything I throw up here.

I haven't really followed much on game news (including poker) and any political news over the past two months has been damn depressing, which probably accounts for why I've been so glum about it and why it seems like I'm only posting here and not there.

So, for the next two months, that's how it'll be. I'll be posting only on here; might be big stuff, might be little, you never know.

As for Examiner, it's on a break until May 9, when I graduate.

Hopefully, in May, I can pick it back up a bit, as I'll be getting about 20 hours a week of my life back. That should make it easier to really throw myself into it.

I hope.

Juxtaposition

On Saturday night, the family enjoyed a night out. The kids went to a sitter, while Kim and I went to St. Joseph's for a fundraiser they were having.


The school (where Alex will hopefully go come August) was having a fundraiser - a silent and live auction, which they were hoping would be the first of many annual events.


It was good to go, migle with other people, and get to know other flks without having to worry about the baby radar going off every few minutes.


The planning committee secured about 80 to 100 items for auction, ranging from one-hour chiropractic treatments to $200 towards tax services to three-day stays at a beachfront house, all either donated by other parishoners or by local businesses.


Most of the events were conducted in a silent auction, but about 15 of the events were auctioned off in a live auction. For this, one of our former priests at St. Joseph's, Fr. Ricardo Bailey, came out to emcee the auction of everything from classroom projects, to an autographed Matt Ryan jersey (which went for $1,500) to orthodontics treatment (which shockingly also went for $1,500). Apparently, football jersey = braces and retainer.

And no, I was not the winning bidder on either of those items. I don't have a place to hang up an autographed, boxed jersey, and I'm extremely thankful for now that both the kids have straight teeth.


If you've heard of him, it's because I've written about him before. Or, it's because you've heard him on the radio. Or on the Today show. lots of places have profiled "Fr. Crunk". He is now at Blessed Trinity HS in Roswell.


Anyway, I happened to snap the photo to the side of Fr. Bailey and our pastor, Fr. John Walsh. Yes, that is an itty-bitty Shih Tzu puppy Fr. Bailey is holding - one of the families in the parish had recently had a litter, and there were four of the dogs at the event. The family was giving one away to another family in the parish. The puppy is, I think, eight weeks old.

Yes, I know the picture is poor quality. I took it with my phone.

Kim got to hold the puppy too, but I did not snap the picture of that. I snapped the picture here instead.

Overall, it was a fun night. The kids enjoyed the sitter (and got to have fun away from parents for a minute) and we enjoyed the dinner (and got to have fun away from kids for a minute).

This was probably a good thing, as Sunday involved a trip to the circus (with a photodump to come very late tonight). More on that adventure later, assuming nothing crazy happens on the way home from class again tonight.

Eagerly awaited BBT4

OK, the BBT 4 schedule is now out.

As I've said before, I am not playing a lot of tourney poker until the end of April. Beyond that, I am also unavailable on Mondays and Wednesday - which means no chance in March and April of playing in the revised Riverchasers game on Monday or the Mookie on Wednesday.

Surprisingly, though, the addition of the Brit blogger game, targeted mostly for our overseas friends, is the event this East Coaster would be MOST likely to play. The Skills game on Tuesdays is a distant second, as waking up early for long Wednesdays of work and classes make those also unlikely.

I'm also out for the first two Big Games, thanks to travel and to final papers being frantically written.

Once May rolls around, things might change a bit and you will probably see me in more. Maybe I'll try to go for one of the monthly winners' packages. Hell, if Waffles can get one (like he did last year) then anything's possible, right?

Besides, ponying up for all the events would be a lot of time - and about $880 which is magically not lying around right now, for a lot of tourneys which would blind me out before I even logged in. So, I'll probably participate at the same level I did a couple years ago - two, maybe three events. Not too many overall, unless I manage to win those two, maybe three. (snicker)

So, if you see me on Full Tilt for the BBT4, it'll probably be for the BritBloggerment only, you limey bastards.

Until then, I'll be on Poker Stars and BoDog, as there's no doom switch currently turned on over there.

Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Sundays at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5 + $0.50
Password: donkament

Tournament: Riverchasers
When: Mondays at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24 + $2 (or $26 token)
Password: riverchasers

Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Tuesdays at 21:30ET
Game: Rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10 + $1
Password: skillz

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesdays at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10 + $1
Password: vegas1

In addition to the weekly events, Miami Don will be hosting the Big Game on the following dates at 21:30 ET (Password: donkey):

March 1, 2009: NLHE Super Stack ($69 + $6 or $75 token)
April 19, 2009: NLHE Rebuy ($24 + $2, with one $24 rebuy and one $24 add-on)
May 31, 2009: NLHE Super Stack ($69 + $6 or $75 token)

The goat has taste

see more pwn and owned pictures

Games Examiner: PokerStars unveils S.C.O.O.P. for April

Atlanta Video Games Examiner: PokerStars unveils S.C.O.O.P. for April

April 2 through April 12 will see torunaments with over $30 million guaranteed in prize pools.

You've probably already heard about it, if you're reading this here, but if not, well now you know.

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First time, and probably last time

This might be the only time I EVER lay down aces before the board cards start. I know it's Stud, but yowzah.

(Holy crap, it's poker content!)

18-man Sng, in the 8-game layout (Lowball, HORSE, NL Hold Em, and PL Omaha HL) pretty much on the bubble with 4 paying and 6 left.

PokerStars Game #25139013412: Tournament #142163232, 8-Game (7 Card Stud Limit) - Level XIII (400/800) - 2009/02/19 22:35:51 ET
Table '142163232 2' 6-max
Seat 1: Mooseperson (602 in chips)
Seat 2: francase13 (1298 in chips)
Seat 3: manndl (4959 in chips)
Seat 4: seakelp (4099 in chips)
Seat 5: Quaestuary (7210 in chips)
Seat 6: gromac (8832 in chips)
seakelp: posts the ante 80
Quaestuary: posts the ante 80
gromac: posts the ante 80
Mooseperson: posts the ante 80
francase13: posts the ante 80
manndl: posts the ante 80
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs]
Dealt to francase13 [As 5h Ad]
Dealt to manndl [Qc]
Dealt to seakelp [Ah]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h]
Dealt to gromac [Js]
Quaestuary: bets 400
gromac: calls 400
Mooseperson: raises 122 to 522 and is all-in
francase13: folds

Pause for a second: The way the betting was, one guy was all-in already and another might be, and the way the betting looked I figured I should fold, as one of the other four left in the hand was going to run me down.

I was right: I was ahead, and I would have been run down.

manndl: calls 522
seakelp: folds
Quaestuary: calls 122
gromac: calls 122 (OK, 4 to the flop)
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs] [8s]
Dealt to manndl [Qc] [Jd]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h] [Ts]
Dealt to gromac [Js] [2c]
manndl: checks
Quaestuary: bets 400 (into a dry side pot)
gromac: calls 400
manndl: calls 400 (everyone go for the ride)
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs 8s] [4d]
Dealt to manndl [Qc Jd] [8c]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h Ts] [Ac]
Dealt to gromac [Js 2c] [Jh]
gromac: bets 800
manndl: calls 800
Quaestuary: raises 800 to 1600
gromac: raises 800 to 2400
manndl: calls 1600
Quaestuary: raises 800 to 3200 (CAPPING IT?)
Betting is capped
gromac: calls 800
manndl: calls 800
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs 8s 4d] [3h]
Dealt to manndl [Qc Jd 8c] [Qd]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h Ts Ac] [Td]
Dealt to gromac [Js 2c Jh] [9s]
manndl: checks
Quaestuary: bets 800
gromac: calls 800
manndl: calls 757 and is all-in (I TOLD YOU!!!)
*** RIVER ***
Quaestuary: bets 800
gromac: calls 800
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Quaestuary: shows [Tc 7d 7h Ts Ac Td 4h] (a full house, Tens full of Sevens)
gromac: shows [Qh Jc Js 2c Jh 9s 6h] (three of a kind, Jacks)
Quaestuary collected 1686 from side pot-2
manndl: shows [7c 6c Qc Jd 8c Qd 9c] (a flush, Queen high)
Quaestuary collected 13071 from side pot-1
Mooseperson: mucks hand
Quaestuary collected 2568 from main pot

So, we have a donkey capping from someone who thinks two pair are good against three other players - one with a set, one with a flush draw, and he hit the boat on sixth street to knock out two players and pop the bubble.

Then again, perhaps it's the illustrative lesson known as STOP BEING A FLUSH-CHASING DONKEY!

That'll do, donkey...that'll do. Sometimes, these things are worth the sheer entertainment value regardless of placement.

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17325 Main pot 2568. Side pot-1 13071. Side pot-2 1686. | Rake 0
Seat 1: Mooseperson mucked [Ks Kd Qs 8s 4d 3h 8h]
Seat 2: francase13 folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 3: manndl showed [7c 6c Qc Jd 8c Qd 9c] and lost with a flush, Queen high
Seat 4: seakelp folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Quaestuary showed [Tc 7d 7h Ts Ac Td 4h] and won (17325) with a full house, Tens full of Sevens
Seat 6: gromac showed [Qh Jc Js 2c Jh 9s 6h] and lost with three of a kind, Jacks

Examiner: Pay for Georgia Power's new plant expansion - before construction starts

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Pay for Georgia Power's new plant expansion - before construction starts

Because what's another $6.4 Billion, forcibly taken, between friends to remove all risk from primary stakeholders?

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Cooler knockdown

Which one of these is the cooler-looking knockdown?

Shea Stadium, February 18, 2009:



Dink.

No drama, no majesty. I know you have weird laws, but hell, at least use a wrecking ball or something. Just a stairway falling down.

Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, September 19, 1997:



BOOM.

See, we done got good at blowing up stuff real nice-like.

Up to speed

At the beginning of the year, I made sure to mention I wasn't making any promises or resolutions regarding getting in shape or losing weight. I figured there was enough other stuff to worry about until May that trying to focus on getting in shape was not the sort of drama I needed to add.

Well, I have not gained a single pound this year. That's the good news.

The bad news is I gained so much in 2008 that it's really starting to affect me on a daily basis. I'm finding it harder to get around, and I'm finding it more difficult to do things I used to take for granted.

I even had trouble last week doing some wind sprints with Alex at Kennesaw Mountain - which is a bad sign, because if I'm having trouble keeping up with a four-year old on a small path, what will that mean for when the kids are older or we're in a much bigger place (say, New York or Disney or Las Vegas or somewhere else just as noisy).

Getting stitches or out of breath doing simple tasks is not what I'd planned on, so it's really time for me to start looking at losing weight again. I had done a decent job of that during my previous job search - but that period of renewed activity ended almost 18 months ago and I've gained 40 pounds since then. Since I'm not pregnant, that's a problem.

I've had a site bookmarked on my computer for a while, but perhaps next week might be the time to start doing it. It's an article called the "Couch to 5K Running Plan". Even though I've been disdainful of running in the past it might be time to finally give it a go. I don't need to do strength training, I need to lose this damn fat which would last a bear through the winter.

Ideally, in a couple of months (nine weeks, really), you'd be able to run/jog for 30 minutes, starting out tiny and gradually working your way up. I know this isn't rocket science for a lot of people, but frankly I never really have tried any sort of regimented running program. Whenever I worked out before, it was with weights, Nautilus machines, or bike machines.

I didn't run. I hated running. I still do. Even when prepping for the police fitness exam, I hated it, which probably helps explain why I missed the cutoff time on the 1.5 mile run despite dropping 10 pounds getting in better shape for the test.

So, there are nine weeks in this program, and nine weeks in the semester. I guess I'd probably do this on Tuesdays and Thursdays between work and picking up the kids, and then maybe Saturday or Sunday around the local track or neighborhood.

Yes, Georgia State has a big fitness center. But I'm barely making it to class as is, so fitting a workout in between a full workday and six hours of classes on Monday and Wednesday is not a practical solution, and I don't want to add an hour plus of round-trip driving every time I go to work out.

I'm not really sure of all the dynamics. Or if I'll even want to stick to this after a week.

I do know that being out of shape is starting to have a dramatic effect on my everyday activity and actions, and I don't really enjoy being so inactive. At least, I don't enjoy it anymore.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably start it next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll keep it for more than one session.

Zoom

I often mention my rusted-out station wagon because, well, it's funny sometimes.

It's got a radiator leak.

It's got a leak around the fuel tank which means I can never fill it up.

It has survived many hot Florida summers, but due to poor maintenance got a nice licking of rust.

It has a cracked rear bumper.

It overheats because a gasket needs to be replaced.

It doesn't really leave Atlanta at all because it may not make it very far - it almost never leaves Cobb, Bartow, Dekalb, or Fulton counties.

It's not in great shape, but still works about as well as we need it to work.

And yet, after all that, a couple of fucked-up cokeheads tried to carjack me while I was sitting at the corner of Auburn Ave. and Edgewood Ave. on my way back from Georgia State tonight after a brutal exam in my capstone class.

One guy began walking from the curb to the front of the car, in plain sight and very slowly, like many other homeless in the area. It caught my attention to the point I really didn't notice another man running at my car door - not to the person, not to anything else as there were no other cars, but definitely towards me and the car.

Thankfully, the decoy in front of me had not cut off all the angles, so I was able to swing the car to the right and swerve around him. I made a right onto Auburn Avenue through the red light (I was planning on going straight onto the Connector) and gunned the engine (as much as I could gun the engine on a fifteen-year old station wagon) to get away as fast as possible.

Thankfully, the limited pull on the engine was enough. A couple turns later I was on the interstate - though I still gunned it all the way home.

I'm pretty grateful right now that the engine didn't miss the gear change like it tends to do when cold - you can rev it, but it'll just idle for a few seconds before it catches. I'm also pretty grateful I always lock the car while in it.

But what does it say when folks are willing to take a chance on grand theft auto when the auto in question is an admitted and acknowledged (though still functioning) P.O.S. on its last legs?

Are the junkies and criminals getting that desperate here already? Is 1977 New York closer than we may have originally thought?

In summation, the car is fine, and I am fine, though the now-empty bottle of Chardonnay next to me has helped to calm my nerves down a lot.

For now, I'm glad the car worked and we were able to get away and that nothing worse happened. God forbid te car got stolen, or that I ended up running over one of them, or that one of us got hurt pretty bad, or that any sort of shooting were to come into play.

I don't think that would be a fun explanation for the kids.

Whew.

Putting Off

WARNING: RIDICULOUS CUTENESS TO FOLLOW.

Today, I have a lot of items to turn in for school.

In my 4:30 class, I have two projects to submit. One was due last week, but I was granted an extension. The other is due today. I just finished working on them a few minutes ago.

In my 7:15 class, I have a mid-term. Yes, already. Even though it's only mid-February, I am awash in mid-terms. That happens when your classes start just 11 days after Christmas.

I am planning on spending the rest of the afternoon (including my 4:30 class) studying for the test.

Now, why am I doing this today? What happened to the weekend?

Well, here goes.

Saturday was spent doing some cleaning, and then a very nice dinner at Pappadeaux's. We decided to go to Pappadeaux's (which does not take reservations) over taking a 5:00 or 5:30 reservation somewhere else. We figured we would have a wait (and we did, for 2:48) but we had a good table by the bar for some good cocktails and relaxing times before a good dinner of shrimp and crawfish fondue and lots of other good, delicious seafood.

(The kids got a good dinner too - they had pepperoni pizza. Win-win.)

So, I figured I would get my work done on Sunday afternoon after church. Kim took Alex out to see Hotel for Dogs, and I stayed home with Sammie because she was a bit fussy and cranky - traits which do not work well in public.

A few minutes after Kim and Alex left, Sammie snuggled up with me on the couch, for a snack and a story before she would take a nap. She has done this before - taken a nap on me while I study or write - so no reason to think this would be otherwise.

At least, no reason to think otherwise until 30 minutes later when I find myself also falling asleep. Sleeping babies will make you tired as well - which is probably good for forcing you to slow down and clear your mind a bit.

Apparently, we were both tired, as we both slept until Alex and Kim got home - almost two hours later. So, I ended up working late into the night (2 AM) and then some more from work.

Was it worth the tradeoff?

Yeah, I think so. Baby therapy is quite calming and relaxing.

Surprisingly, Kim did not rush for the camera to snap a ridiculously cute shot. Consider yourselves spared.

Now, let's hope I actually remember enough about Porter and VIRO frameworks tonight on my test.

Badass ways to travel

Even though it's French, it's pretty damn cool.

I think this is how Cranky will be driving to the hospital pretty soon.

Damn you, Waffles.


c´etait un rendezvous from megahoschi on Vimeo.

Well, at least I'm a badass

Putting your appointed path ahead of any inner conflicts, you make your own rules for the benefit of all.

If my life or death I can protect you, I will.

Animal Humor Overload

Cute Things Falling Asleep v. Lolcats v. Fuck You Penguin. Too cute, versus cute, versus actually funny.

Discuss.

This is about all my brain can process right now because it is still mired in the muck of determining covariance and standard deviations manually.

Really.

If you asked me what two plus two was right now, I would probably answer with chicken.

Examiner: Mixed success to refine the latest rotten bailout

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Mixed success to refine the latest rotten bailout

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Tax thought

It is a scary realization when you are doing your taxes and you realize that you have somehow spewed off enough in medical items that it's something that can be itemized on your taxes.

Yuck.

On the bright side, at least they'll be done quickly this year. Last year, I prepared our taxes through Liberty Tax Service, since I was working there for the season.

This year, I'm back to using TurboTax, and unlike the new Secretary of the Treasury, I actually know how to use the program and stay up to date on tax rules.

I seriously wonder, though - how is it that schmoes like us are able to use the program, but genius public officials like Tim Geithner and Tom Daschle can't, or won't?

Oh, wait, there's ANOTHER one?

Sheesh.

The first reaction is the best

This should make the Staten Island groundhog smarter than a majority of New York City voters.

A confederate yankee after all

Since I didn't have enough drama last week when I wrote about time and the lack thereof, God decided it would be good to add some more crazy stuff to life.

I wrote my piece about free time and balancing my life last week when it appeared downsizing would eventually happen.

They did. THE NEXT DAY. Last Wednesday and Thursday, out of 1400 people in our division around the world, almost 200 were either let go or offered early retirement which they accepted. Included among the departed were several good friends, as well as my boss's boss, which also meant a complete realignment of our department and the realignment of all of our duties which will (probably) result in more cuts later that may or may not include my position.

I didn't even realize how it had happened until midday Thursday. I left Wednesday for school, and my superior was in his office. I came back Thursday, and the office was closed and the nameplate removed.

Thursday and Friday were very strange days. I was thankful to still have a job (for the time being) but at the same time you feel bad, even guilty, about those who may not be there anymore. In this case, one of the departed was one of the ones who hired me, so it was a very strange feeling.

Today involved a two and a half hour meeting discussing roles and responsibilities for each of us who remained, which was then followed for me by two more two and a half hour classes.

Things are looking more and more uncertain here, but for now I know my kids and I will probably be stable. Probably.

After May, who knows? I might find something else in Atlanta. I might stay within the company in a different or expanded role. I might change industries or fields entirely again.

I've had job search agents set up for other cities for a while now, just in case the "perfect" opportunity came along. Those two cities are New York and Las Vegas.

While there hasn't been much in my field in Las Vegas and I don't have much of a support structure there, it would be fun to live there - though I don't know about raising two kids there. I like the city, but visiting and going for work is a LOT different than moving there.

As for New York - it's probably been obvious from my posts over the past few months that I've been gaining a re-found affection for my old home. The kids have been developing a great affection for the city as well - not just the tourist traps, but even Stuyvesant Town and the Village and other sites of my old haunts.

So, let's just say the possibility of the kids and I returning to New York City is not nearly as farfetched as it was several months ago, especially if the right opportunities come along. There would be some adjustment with regards to finding school for the kids - though I'd hope they could receive the same opportunities I received - but if things do break a certain way, then it has to be considered as an option.

Now, there is no way I would want either of my kids to potentially be deprived of the opportunities available to them, so if there's an opportunity to take advantage of, then it would be foolish not to take it. If I weren't able to get them into a decent school in New York, then I wouldn't consider it. But I miss the city, and the kids miss the city, so perhaps it would be worth it if the correct opportunity presented itself.

For now, though, I'm still in the same job, in the same house, taking the same classes. At a certain point, though, you really have to start addressing every option on the table, including the ones that seemed ludicrous and unfathomable mere months before.

It's been ten years since I made the decision to stay in Atlanta. I may be closer to making the reverse decision than I ever thought I would be, both for myself and for the kids.

Every option is on the table.