Since my last writing, the semester at King has drawn to a close; our fall commencement was two weeks ago. I knew several of the graduates from my statistics class last spring, which made the experience more meaningful. However, I would have called it more memorable had one of the name-announcing marshals taken the $100 bet (not from me, but from a colleague) to read his names like a pirate. The cessation of classes means I have had more time to work on my dissertation research, provided I can get back into some semblance of a rhythm.
What could possibly disrupt me at this time of year, you ask? I thought you might. Since Sandi has to work both on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, we decided to head home to visit family this past weekend. This, of course, meant that the world had to go haywire. What started as a morning rain in Bristol became a snowstorm by the time Sandi got off work on Friday afternoon. Undaunted, we hit the highway, traveling at a rollicking speed of thirty miles per hour until we reached Wytheville. At that stage, we decided to stop at an open gas station, refuel, and break our wiper blades free of the ice that had accrued. It had taken our typical drive time to reach the halfway mark, which is pretty much what we had expected upon departure. We did not, however, expect to spend five hours sitting almost completely still on Interstate 77. After a dozen or so update text messages, a best-two-out-of-three rock-paper-scissors game, and four separate movements of less than two hundred feet, we were finally able to continue our journey at 2:30 AM. While we never saw any concrete evidence of a reason for the delay, we surmised from road conditions that 'the Man' had held us down while he got his roads plowed. Never had the BP station at exit 14 seemed so lovely. The remainder of the trip was slow but uneventful, save for the sighting of five -- count 'em, five -- snowplows traveling in single file along US Highway 52 once we entered North Carolina. Our weekend journey took us a mere thirteen hours, all told.
Once we finally got home and got a bit of sleep, things were more pleasant. On Saturday, we hung out with Sandi's family and watched G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra, which somehow managed not to wreck one of my childhood fantasies. We also played several rounds of Street Fighter IV before calling it a night. Sunday featured a birthday party for our youngest niece, Camryn, who has now been a part of our lives for a full decade. Man, that makes me feel old.
After a normal-time trip back to Tennessee, we have been busy with little things. For instance, we had put off a trip to the grocery store until after our voyage to North Carolina. We are quite prepared for the coming holiday, with cinnamon rolls and ham at the ready.
Take care, everyone!
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