On The Road To Find Out (part 1)

Writing this from a Motel 6 in Rockwall, TX, just east of Dallas. Good trip so far. Highlights include:

-Getting the hell out of Los Angeles
-Having an excuse to drink coffee and listen to music for twelve hours a day (iPod on "Shuffle by Album" is a nice little trip down memory lane.)
-Visiting Sherwin, Mitch and Amy in Las Cruces
-Getting tagged at 12 MPH over the speed limit in El Paso and getting off with a warning (Thank Christ it was El Paso Police and not the highway patrol. I've heard stories about those guys and anyone with out-of-state plates.)

The last four days in LA were crazy. On one hand, I got to spend some quality time with friends watching Lost, getting dim sum in Arcadia and fighting a Slinkee in the Bradbury building. On the other hand, it took me two more days than I had planned to get out of my apartment and into storage, and I ended up having to make at least two unscheduled trips to storage to retrieve stuff or get rid of stuff that didn't fit in my car. On top of that, I've barely had time to touch EPIK's pre-orientation material (which is apparently due by the first week of class instruction) or the ESL class I signed up for (which is not required but would really help me do a better job at performing this job.)

Had to divert to Dallas instead of Oklahoma City due to the weather. Revised plan for the next few days appears to be: Friday night in Nashville, Saturday lunch in Louisville, Saturday night and Sunday in Chicago, Monday arrival in Buffalo. Still haven't decided exactly what to do about the Albany/New York leg of the trip.

Now, better get on some of those classes...