Yesterday, I woke to find that the day of my Physics Department picnic was riddled with rain. This basically meant that I had nothing to do, and with Shannon's parents in Orono for Family/Friends weekend, I decided to make my drive down to Bath early. Stop 1: Bath RadioShack. Lydia's store is much as I left it. It makes me sad to think that I'll never work there again, because I've had some good times in that store, but then again, I've had a lot of bad times, too. The same ragtag bunch seemed to be behind the counter and on the sales floor, which I expected. Lydia still has hairbrained dreams of quitting and never managing again, but I know that those dreams never live up to a reality. Stop 2: Bath VIP. Alyssa was working, so I NATURALLY had to harass her. She seemed to be doing fine, and tried to con me into buying her food. I made no such yielding, mostly because I was already on my way to... Stop 3: Home. I got home to an empty house. My sister Morgan was already out doing God-knows-what, but I didn't care. It was nice to be home for a few hours. While the house was empty, I began to take certain things (golf clubs, cribbage board, CDs, etc.) out of my room and my basement, and I loaded them into my car. Soon, all the rest of my belongings will no longer live at 17 Maxwell Street. I spoke with my Dad for a while, and that made me happy. For some reason, we get along when we're not living together. I've never known why, but for some reason, something just goes wrong. This used to upset me, but I have taken it for given and moved on, and I think things are all the better for it. After my conversation with Dad about life, politics, and how glad he is NOT to have moved to Mississippi, I moved on. It still hurts, and at the same time, makes me feel good, that I will never live there again. Stop 4: Lisa's Exxon. Things there were normal. Sue, a friend of Shannon's parents, was working, and we chatted for a while. About then, Kate called and let me know that her brother's wedding in Georgetown was over. I picked up a cigarette lighter and left. Stop 5: Wiscasset, and a meeting with Kate the Great. I met Kate at her hotel on Route One about 45 minutes after my stop at Lisa's. After we met and she showed me the shells she had sniped from her brother's wedding (which, apparently, was beautiful; congratulations to Kate's brother, Will), we headed out to a cafe in downtown Wiscasset. We stopped and had a bite to eat, and headed back into Bath for a clove-smoking-friendly environment: Waterfront Park, right in downtown. The pictures of Kate and me that are posted in her latest entry were taken during our smoking stop. After about four takes, we got a good pic. After indulging in cloves, I took Kate back to her hotel. Kate is a wonderful and intriguing person, and I am very happy to have met her; she is indeed as great in real life as she is in text on SD. And it felt good meeting her, mostly because I rarely get a chance to meet great people like Kate anymore. We talked about everything under the sun, it seemed, and, of course, it's always great to find someone who loves Djarum Blacks just as much as you do. (The only part that scared me a little is that I felt like I was boring her with stories of my life, but then again, I feel like that any time I talk about myself. I’m self-conscious, what can I say? ;)) On to... Stop 6: Elizabeth's house. I received a rebate while I was at my house, and that rebate was really meant for my friend Elizabeth (my cohort-in-crime of the last three years), whose parents I purchased a computer for. (A little less simple than that, but we'll leave it at that.) I stopped in just in time to see the Sox win, and to share a Molson and a good conversation with him and Elizabeth's sister, Mary, over life in general. The Bianchi clan are all good people, but Elizabeth I miss the most of them all. I always enjoy their company, but the past two weeks of school have been strangely incomplete with Elizabeth gone. There's no one to complain to or survive class with. There's no homework partner. No senior project. It feels strange that she's gone, so when she came home, I felt so glad to see her. (You know, when I get to see four great people in my life, I know it was a good day.) I stuck around for a bit longer, and when business came to business, I realized that the rebate check wouldn't allow a third-party endorsement! Shucks. I was embarrassed, but I left a check for $100, post-dated, and said my goodbyes to everyone at around 10:30 PM. Elizabeth, if you read this, it's not the same Bennett Hall now that you're gone. Stop 7: Home. After a three-hour drive through the backroutes, I hit home, and got to spend a little time with Shannon before my body gave out. I missed her; I wanted her there when I was home, and when I met Kate, and when I went to visit Elizabeth. But, she couldn't be there, and I was so happy when I saw her as I came through the door. Fifteen minutes after getting to see her, her beautiful face and hair, getting to hold her, I fell asleep. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Kate. Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you, Shannon.