The last two days have been a hectic maelstrom of Globalist related work (when I wasn’t aiding Jeff and Dwain in rock hunting, that is). The key members of my team have been great, making my job much easier, but there were certain unhelpful setbacks which served to make things rather more complicated than they ought to have been. Nevertheless, the finished product is being uploaded as I type — issue two is now a virtual reality (it won’t feel totally real until it’s printed and I’m holding a copy, at which point I can breathe a sigh of relief). This is likely the last issue for which I will helm the production, though I do hope to be involved in the magazine as it continues. Issue 2 is really as much of a landmark as the inaugural one, since this is the transition from mere frolic to legitimate institution. I sincerely hope to be holding a third issue produced by my successor in several months’ time.
The new year approaches relentlessly, brought home yesterday when Alexis and Jenna dragged me off to shop for fireworks because this is an American tradition which I could not miss out on. My attempts to explain that we’re very good at blowing things up in Europe and that in all probability the fireworks were made in China anyway fell upon deaf ears. We ended up in a large tent filled with every sort of colourful explosive a pyromaniacal child could desire and proceeded to fill 3 baskets with the requisite paraphenalia. Jeff has, I am told, singularly failed to ignite a proper sparkler bomb for the past two years, so is hoping to break the trend this time around. We did blow a quarter of our $100 budget on a single impressive multi-firework tube — Jeff and I have high hopes for the Black Cat Aerial Showcase. The advertised “finale break” sounds a little too Final Fantasy, but then Caleb and Jeff have been playing rather a lot of FFX, so should be qualified to deal with any related eventuality.
Unfortunately enjoying a USA style New Year means I’ll be even further away from Kirsten. She already knows how much I miss her, but I thought I’d dedicate tomorrow’s post to her in advance. Meanwhile, to anyone making a severe New Year’s resolution, enjoy your last day of freedom. While Karleigh learns the fine art of the swivel chair spin, Pepper, as you can see, is making the most of it, pawing at the fish whenever people aren’t looking.
We’ve headed down south to Baton Rouge for Christmas. Karleigh is, as you can see, lively as ever. She takes great pleasure in tormenting Pepper, Jenna’s new kitten (better known as “Kitty”). They have a very giving relationship.
My cousin Caleb arrived back from uni yesterday bringing a rather nice surprise in tow. He somehow forgot to mention that he’d got his hands one of the elusive Xbox 360 premium consoles. That means wireless controllers, harddisk, the works. Since I have yet to find an RPG that he doesn’t like, I decided to introduce him to 
I’ve been playing 
The first reliable post-hurricane reports from my family in Louisiana have started to arrive. Those affected in the south of the state, although okay themselves, say the damage is pretty awful. Stephen only had time to send a few words since he’s helping at the Red Cross shelter. He did say that, “New Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Gulfport, St. Tammany, Biloxi, and Pass Christian are destroyed or flooded”, although fortunately Baton Rouge escaped the worst of it. Jenna let me know that she’s okay and they still “have power, but the rest of the Traylor clan is without”. Jessie and Cassie have moved in with them for the moment, and schools and universities are shut for at least a week. She’s promised pictures later. Between this and the tsunami it would appear that the last year has been a particularly bad time to be related to me if one wishes to avoid natural disasters.
They really deserve an entry of their own since as well as being Jen & Jeff’s best friends, they’re really like a second family too. And they welcomed me so fully that it was pretty hard not to feel at home there. I’ve actually eaten at both of the restaurants in which they work while they were on duty during my stay here. Cassie waitresses at the Mexican chain On The Border, while Jesse has now been given supervising shifts at the ominously named Izzo’s Illegal Burrito. “Joint” is definitely the right name for that “roll your own” burrito place where you choose your fillings from those on offer and the staff really cram ’em as full as possible. Sort of reminded me of Doughmasters back home, but more mexican and with more choice of wraps. And I even have a T-shirt, courtesy of Jesse, which I still wear despite the fact it’s XL to match his…larger than life personality!
I hung out with them a lot after getting back from the Gulf Shores, including a fun game of drinking worms with Jesse (well, someone had to entertain him after Jeff refused to join in!). Just before I left I also got to meet his mother, of whom I had heard a great deal, so it was interesting to put a face to her. I think Cassie was a little worried that I was getting bored with the babies and baby talk (her son, Maddox, must be above three or four months younger than Karleigh) but honestly I didn’t mind what I was doing so long as I got to spend time with Jen and Karleigh before leaving. Actually, the image Cassie will probably keep is of me balancing Karleigh on a tabletop and feeding her while trying to calm an irate Maddox at the same time which she and Jen found incredibly amusing for some reason (though I think they were secretly impressed too…or at least that’s what I’m telling myself).
Caleb was kind enough to offer me a ride up to Monroe as Dwain and Manel were keen for me to spend another week with them. Whilst Caleb is a good driver, he’s known for his penchant for “loose interpretation” of speed limits. He’s certainly not reckless, but given the speeds involved, he’s not entirely safe either. Well, today was going to be a trip to remember as we were pulled over for speeding. Just a bit. 75mph in 45mph zone is what he was written up for. And let’s just say his “top speed” was a little higher…