Analog

  It's hard to get motivated to blog the anti-climax of a vacation. In a sense, the quiet drive home was the most enjoyable part because it was so relaxing. Yes, I enjoyed the sites. Yes, I enjoyed my family. Yes, I enjoyed the romance of eating the last of our wedding cake in the Badlands. Unlike the rest of the trip, there was no real pressure to get to or back from anywhere. Unlike the rest of the trip, there was little road construction. And once we decided on US-36, we knew where we were going. I actually slept on the way home. With the traffic of Omaha behind us and crossing into Kansas fulfilled, all I had left to do was anticipate returning to the night shift and trying to find a time when it's NOT raining to mow my lawn. Looking over the photos I took with my new camera, I had a sense of pride in the quality. I was glad to have those shared experiences with my family. It's good to know that mediocraty is escapable, that I can enjoy my family, and st

It took me FOREVER to wake up today (and I'm falling asleep now). So we got a bit of a late start. Mom drove us all the way back to Sioux Falls. Riding shotgun, I got to take pictures of some of the things I'd seen while driving out the same way. There was something of a kerfuffle about which route to take back. "Nana isn't going to be in Kansas City, so do we take the faster route home?" "If we want to cross into Nebraska just to say we've been there, do we stay on the interstate in Iowa and cross over or take the old 2-lane down?" "It's dark and starting to storm. Do we stay here or push on to Omaha?" I've discovered this sort of discussion gives me a migraine. We're lucky to have gotten a room since the College World Series is going on here. Not only did we get a pool and breakfast, we got a discount. I'm falling asleep while watching the US in the World Cup. I'll probably be asleep before it's over. http:

I wasn't ready to leave the Alex Johnson. After our Tom Tom directed us to the wrong IHOP and steered us the wrong way on a one-way street all before we even left Rapid City, we left for the Badlands. After seeing nearly 100 billboards for Wall Drug, I had to see what the big deal was. It was there that I saw my first jackalope. There was a lot to see, and a lot to have your picture taken next to. Speaking of pictures, we took a lot in the Badlands. I actually had my camera out more than Mom. DeAnn loved it. Kayla liked it too but seemed more thrilled that she had cell service. Her friends hadn't texted her in more than 4 days. We wore out pretty fast and had to make an unplanned stop in Kadoka. New regulations have kept them from opening the pool. And their recent purchase of the neighboring restaurant has canceled the advertised continental breakfast. Drat. The room is huge. We don't know where we're going next. http://picasaweb.google.com/bstmichael/Vacati

We hit Dinosaur Park first, but Kayla was quick to remind us that she wanted to see the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. To fulfill her 2nd wish, seeing a bison, we skipped one slow scenic road for another equally slow, scenic road. Here's an observation: All roads in South Dakota reduce to one lane. There's road construction everywhere. At one point, we were forced to drive on packed dirt. There's one-lane bridges and one-lane tunnels (honk your horn). Before this, I've never driven on a US hwy with a speed limit of 25 mph. Kayla got to see her mammoths and bison as well as antelope, prairie dogs, and one dirty goat. She says she's happy. Mom took Kayla for the evening so DeAnn and I could celebrate our anniversary. We had slow danced at lunch. For dinner, we went to Botticelli. It was great! The quote of the night came from another table: "Hey, Roger! Feel her lips, they're numb!" http://picasaweb.google.com/bstmichael/Vacation2010#

Running behind makes Mom upset. Fighting allergies makes DeAnn miserable. All of this misery make Kayla anxious. When no one is happy, I'm not happy. I'm trying to change that. Despite all of our problems, there WERE bouts of happiness and amazement! Even though we left late, we saw both Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument! We ended up staying for the light show. I've fallen asleep twice while writing this blog. I'M POOPED! Will write more tomorrow. http://picasaweb.google.com/bstmichael/Vacation2010#

There came a point this afternoon where DeAnn was sure we'd never get here. Maybe it was the driving rain, the fact that we saw more cows than people, or the numerous construction sites that reduced us to one lane of traffic that drove her to pessimism. No, she says it was not being able to breathe thru her nose. (Stupid allergies.) Kayla liked our stay last night and our free breakfast so well, she thinks we should always stay at the Super 8. Mom wanted to drive more but has been tickelled by the trip so far. It was her idea to stop to see the Missouri River. There, a member of the National Eagle Center had a bald eagle. As Kayla posed next to it for a picture, it jumped off the man's shoulder, toward Kayla, and batted her in the head! Caught it in a photo! As we passed into the Mountain Time Zone, our phones flipped back & forth between zones. We saw the Badlands from the highway. Now at the Hotel Alex Johnson. More soon! http://picasaweb.google.com/bstmichael/Vac

Kayla just got wacked in the head by a bald eagle! No lie!

We left 1hr 30min later than Dee wanted but it was sunny for the whole morning. We stopped at a Ryan's in the Quad Cities. I slept thru part of Iowa and woke up to find their version of rest areas is a parking lot with no bathroom. Kayla and Mom are getting along great! DeAnn is happy because she's "never driven in Iowa before." I got video of some really huge wind farms. Kayla left her phone in a rest stop in Minnesota, and we had to go back for it. Good news: it was still there. We're at a really cute motel in Blue Earth, MN. More tomorrow! Find our pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/bstmichael/Vacation2010#

I woke up early to watch the US play the UK in the World Cup. If you ask me, a game where nothing happens after the first 30 minutes and ends in a draw is a bad game. I really needed to go back to sleep after that but ended up awake. I'm a little on edge. Working nights and weekends makes me feel like the working-end of someone's calling plan. Kayla and Dee have both been great even though I've been really grumpy. I'm thankful for that. I'm also grateful Mom did so much research for this trip. My head has just not been into it. All I've wanted to do is express my creative side and have it out there again. With DeAnn's blessing, I did finally post a new YouTube vid. Before leaving for work tonight, I found myself standing over cat barf and poop. Their fleas were still there and biting my legs. While I stomped and cursed, the roof leaked on my head. I need a vacation and it's coming tomorrow. Let's hope I find my sanity there. P.S. We'

My graduation, 2008 I graduated from Eastern Illinois University in December 2008 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. I was happy to get it a degree in something that might enable me to work for the state or federal government in some kind of social work. Originally, I'd wanted to go on to earn my master's in that field and teach sociology at the college level. However, when the opportunity to serve at my student job as a graduate assistant came up, I jumped on it. Me, creating a video at EIU I loved the job; I loved the people there. It was my opportunity to use my associate's in radio-TV broadcasting to do something creative that helped the university achieve its goals. Unfortunately for me, there's no graduate degree in sociology at my local university. I thought I could be happy with political science, but not only was I not a good fit, I had some of the worst extenuating circumstances I've ever had to face. The week that I decided to pull out of t