So the visit went as well as could be expected. I deal with these things differently as most people do. I have a hard time with the reality of sad situations and they don’t usually catch up to me until much later. I took the last post down because I thought it might hurt or even anger my family in some way. I decided to re-post it because all emotions are expected including mine during times like these.

I usually get in a very joking mood in somber situations. It’s not so much denial as it is the desire not to swim in sad waters. I have to admit though that when I left Dot’s room on Thanksgiving I was fighting tears and they won. It gets harder as I get older. I wanted to crawl into bed with Dot. She looked so comfortable. I haven’t heard any updates about her health, so I am assuming that all prayers for Dot are being heard.

What I am about to write is said often, but I don’t think it will hurt to say it again. Let your family know that you love them. Don’t do it because one day it will be too late, or because you think they expect it. Let them know because you do. To all of my family, I love you. I don’t call, write or visit often enough but I know I don’t need to. We can always pick back up and I thank God for that.

I’m a little late on this one, but I wanted to add one thing I was very thankful for on Thanksgiving this year. I’m so thankful for Jessica. More than once she has stood beside me in places that conjure unpleasant and fairly recent memories for her. Each time I let her know that I didn’t expect her to be there, and I understood if she wanted to run and hide in a hole somewhere. Instead she stood there with me, offering what she could to help. I could say so much more about her, but for now I’ll leave it to thank you.

So there is a bunch of stuff happening at Chez Graff as usual, but this post is odd and long enough.

Every time my hard disc spins on its spindle, I can’t tell if it’s the sound of my stomach acid or the next email coming down the pipe. It’s usually a mixture of both. I have to thank God for allowing my computer to think louder than I do. I’d be fired and embarrassed if my thoughts groaned out of the fixed joints in my skull the way data spews wasted energy past the case of my CPU.

Today my task list reached new heights with another twenty items added to the already megalithic list of uncompleted tasks. There are still 227 emails in my inbox.

In Durham, North Carolina my grandmother is fighting for air because habits are hard to kick until they become an incendiary hazard to the oxygen tank that stalks you. It’s a fact; scissors always beats paper and mobile oxygen tanks always beat cigarette habits. She’s not doing so well today, and I am trying to act like I give a damn about my inbox, task lists, and projects while waiting to hear word from my brother as to whether I’ll be spending Thanksgiving next to my grandmother that I have neglected to see too many times.

Now I am wondering if I am typing this for any reasons at all other than selfish ones. I’m not looking for pity or praise, but I could be looking for some kind of self-fulfillment; the kind of self that those cliché backpackers in Europe are looking for. Do the backpackers ever get mixed up and go to the other Meccas of finding one’s self? Can you imagine? A hairy guy with an overgrown metal-tubed backpack is looking for himself in an overpriced grid of streets and iPods called “The Village”. What does he do? He found himself. He learned that the real him needed a haircut and some hip new horn-rimmed glasses. Him finds himself on the raw diet. Him rejects war. Him eats a ham sandwich when no one is looking and feels a little bit guilty when visiting Him’s war veteran Dad back in Emma, Missouri.

Well, I heard from my brother. It’s now 6:12PM. My sister should light my phone up any moment to let me know she is on her way to meet Jessica and me to start the four-hour trip on one of the busiest travel days of the year. We’ll get to my brother’s house sometime around 11 or midnight counting stops and traffic. Then tomorrow? We’ll see…

The pictures below are a little overdue to the web. I shot them a month or two ago at the Loris Bog Off in Loris, SC while spending time with Gee, Bradley, George, Lauren, Jessica, and a whole bunch of other people I don’t know. There will be more to come in the next week or so.

You may have noticed that the chained section on the right has been cut down to a smaller size. I removed all the xanga users because I get the email subscription updates thing, so don’t think you’ve been deleted from my friends list or something like that. The whole chained thing is more for me to have a quick way to get to my favorite blogs from anywhere.

Moving on…
As you know, this past weekend Jessica and I stayed on Kiawah Island. I work out there, and I was asked to shoot some photos while staying in one of our rental villas. It was a nice experience to see what our guests see. When I got off work on Friday I checked in and then headed home to get Jessica, our bikes, bags, and some dinner. We ran into Layne at dinner which was a very nice surprise. That guy is golden and will be a father in a few short weeks I might add. After dinner we made it to our lovely villa and topped off the night with tasty Sangria on the porch.

Saturday we got up and left the island for some not so fancy breakfast at McDonald’s. We came back and I shot some photos while Jessica took a nap. When she woke up we got some showers and had lunch on Seabrook Island at Bohicket Marina. I had a delicious fried chicken sandwich while our Gamecocks whipped up on Florida on the TV. After lunch we rode our bikes on the beach and on Kiawah’s 30 miles of bike trails. I can’t even begin to describe how peaceful and gorgeous the island is. No wonder people spend 8 million on homes out there. After the bike ride we were starving and more than ready for dinner. After another shower we headed out for dinner. We stopped at Piggly Wiggly for some more Sangria when we noticed steam pouring out of the hood of the Astro. The radiator was bone dry with no obvious signs as to where the leak was. We filled it back up with water and hauled arse to the apartment to swap out for Jessica’s Explorer. Dinner was had, and sleep was too.

Sunday we got up and checked out so we could tend to the van situation.

I wish this post could have been a little more descriptive, but I just can’t describe the place. I know these pictures don’t do it justice either. If you get the chance, spend some time on Kiawah.

This is the villa we stayed in: 4943 Turtle Point

I also added some shots to flickr from the weekend. You can click the pic below to get there for the rest of them.