Update 5/29/06

Happy Memorial Day. Lots of ch-ch-changes are going on in the Artemenko household. My brother Pete and his wife Katie are going to have a baby soon. My brother B**, who get's fussy when his name shows up in Google associated with "tha .org" is moving 'cross country from San Francisco to New York. Here is a picture he sent me from his last weekend:

If we lived in the 1800's (and I love to play this game), Bill would probably be driving a fancy stagecoach with a marble-headed cane and a monocle --perhaps a minature cape that just covers his shoulder blades. Peter would be a prosperous farmer, selling his vegetables and fruits on the open market. I would probably be a pig farmer, with eccentric allusions to a far off idea called the "interweb." Seriously, my brothers are great guys I look up to them -- literally, they are both taller than me!

I digress, all of these changes are fun to watch. Debating on whether or not to delete above paragraph, moving on!

*Newsflash: "The night of May 27, 2006 in Namibia, Africa, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt." Nothing says smug, self-righteousness like a four-syllable incomprehensible name that purpousely requires the media to define it's latin origin.

This post is a multi-headed beast isn't it? I credit the coffee I brewed this morning: The Organic Coffee Company.

This has been a fun long weekend, which culminated in last night's visit to Outback Steakhouse. Their "Shrimp on the Barbie" appetizer is a favorite of ours. I took a picture of it, but it looked awful so I won't include it. Here is Laura on her way to dinner:

I am so happy she is here, she is a great companion. And while said companion was sleeping last night, I was seconds away from beating the Xbox 360 game "Fight Night Round 3," when I opted to execute an illegal knee to the crotch on my opponent -- which resulted in immediate disqualification. With a record of 30-4-0, and 30 knockouts it was a real disappointment. I was playing the game because the movie we watched, Derailed, got me too worked up to sleep -- it's a great psychological thriller with a good twist!

The game actually looks like this. It brings back memories of Arnie's Place in Westport, Connecticut. And thats a whole 'nother story.

Update 5/20/06

Well, I made it. It has been a month, but I finally have been reunited with my loving husband and son. Not to worry, I've been well taken care of. Sheila, Yolanda and Maggie were especially good hosts to me (I'm a few pounds merrier thanks to their fine cooking) and I am so appreciative of their generosity and kindness. It was a great farewell to Chicago and I am so thankful for my time there and the wonderful friends I've made. Thank you.

Ballantyne, N.C., is breathtaking. It is close to perfect. The weather is wonderful, the air is clean, the people are nice and the landscape is perfectly manicured. I love it! Some may call it boring, but I think it is fantastic.

Today, Andrew and I were so productive. We first woke up early and purchased our first car together. It was a milestone and we are so happy with our decision.

We then headed to a crawfish boil, our first, on Lake Norman...It was great. So much fun and the little "bugs" were quite tasty.

We wrapped the day up by checking out Uptown Charlotte where I will be working. It is such an attractive little city...very clean, cute restaurants, plenty of sky. It's a welcomed change, however, I will miss my great co-workers in Chicago. They are all such smart, amazing people.

Tomorrow the fun continues when my parents come to visit. Nothing like a visit from mom and dad Perry, right? I think we are going to tour around the neighborhoods in Charlotte, which is my parents favorite thing to do, so it should be fun! Andrew and I tried to look at one of the neighborhoods last night, but we got lost, so we had to ask a group of tweens for directions out of the complex! Pretty embarrassing.

Update 5/14/06

So yesterday I drove up to Durham, North Carolina for my cousin Julie's graduation party. Also there, were my grandparents, whom I have not seen since my brother's wedding last July.

We picked up some beer at a local grocery store, and enjoyed catching up in a grassy patch in front of the apartment complex. Oreo was with me, and people took turns holding him on his leash so he wouldn't run away. He tried escaping more than once to eat a dead snake and roll around in garbage. We kept him near the crowd with cracker bits and shavings of summer sausage.

At one point, we tied Oreo to my grandfather's chair, which Oreo managed to pull so hard that it knocked the chair over. I was faced with the decision to snap a picture or lend a helping hand. I did exactly that, in exactly that order.

Everyone was fine, and we all had a good laugh! Papa never fails to entertain, including the time he dressed up as Santa Claus last December. I have a lot of respect for him and his approach to life. If you remember back in February, I posted his mini-autobiography.

Inside Julie's apartment, Julia (our dear Bolivian friend) was cooking a wonderful turkey feast. It was delicious. Here is a picture of Julia and Kelly, Julie's twin. Kelly is currently living in Brazil and majoring in Chicano studies. I had a chance to learn a little more about what she has been up to -- very interesting stuff!

It was great catching up with Julie and Kelly, and also their brother Mark and their parents too. The entire Younger family is an exciting, vibrant group. I have to admit though, it was a little weird being around the college graduation scene -- has it really been that long since I graduated?

I tried to skip mine but my parents wouldn't let me. I understand their considerable financial stake in my education. However at the time, I found nothing celebratory about leaving college for the real world!

After dinner with my extended family, I hopped back in my car with Oreo and we hit the road back to Charlotte. It really was the ideal way to wrap up my last weekend alone before Laura gets here.

Update 5/12/06

I have a running joke with my buddy Sam that when you look in the mirror, some times you catch a younger version of yourself just before he runs away. It's never a sad thing, its the kind of moment where you listen to yourself laugh. I draw from another friendship of mine to determine why we laugh. Chris always said this "Philosopher Hobbes tells us that we laugh at one of two things: new discovery, or other people's misfortune."

It's up to you to determine if seeing a fleeting version of your younger self is funny because you are discovering more about yourself -- or if the joke is on you. I woluld argue for the former.

Click here for the Sweet Eric Johnson Video

Update 5/7/06

Oh man, where did the day go? I spent pretty much the entire Sunday updating my Viral Vids.com page. Because the URL is pretty decent, it has been drawing a lot of organic searches in Google. "Organic" just means a search result in Google that isn't paid for.

Anyways, back when I started building out that page with a few links to videos, I noticed about 10% of the traffic coming to Artemenko.org was overflow from people finding viralvids.com on Google and then reading Artemenko.org.

So, instead of using the video site to attract random people to my blog, I decided to drop the links from it and fire up my old Netflix affiliate account.

Maybe I can cash in on all the Google traffic and retire rich!

...Although that is far from likely.

Here is a funny cartoon I found a while back from the website Toothpaste for Dinner:

Only 9 more days until Laura gets down to the Queen city!

Update 5/6/06

Buenos dias. Hopefully everyone had a fun Cinco de Mayo. I narrowly escaped my Xbox360 comfort zone (because Sugar Ray Leonard is impossible to beat in Fight Night Round 3), and went to see my neighbor's band MellowGroove.

I followed the MellowGroove caravan 18 miles north into the city, and then out to eastern Charlotte. The venue was called Tropical Heat.

I had a good time. I skipped the Ox Tail on the menu and instead got the Jerk Chicken. I was thankful to be out of the apartment and enjoying a new scene.

I got home pretty late and slept in until around 10:30 this morning, it was glorious. Oreo got up at 7:30 and hung out by the window.

So I took him out to the tennis courts and ran him around without his leash. He loves it. Not sure what the neighbors think about it, because he doesn't wear the required white sole shoes or other proper tennis attire. All I know is a tired dog is a good dog. Afterward, Oreo and I watched TV.

With the dog sedated, I hit the road to check out a new fish store that a guy from work told me about. It's called Fintastic.

I'm definitely going back there when I setup my larger fish tank. I'm not sure if I want to go fresh or saltwater next time. Here are some pics from inside the store... this type of thing is easier to get away with when you have the flash turned off (just an FYI).

If you look closely in the picture above, you can see a Starbucks Frappuccino (however you spell it) in my hand. Usually, I abhor Starbucks for it's yuppy factor and insane amount of caffeine. Alas there was no Dunkin Donuts in sight!

Tonight I've got a couple Blockbuster rentals, Sin City and A Sound of Thunder. The first is a recomendation from my buddy Chris. The second is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury that I really like. Even though it got napalmed by critics I'll probably really enjoy it.

Update 5/1/06

Week one in Charlotte has gone by without a hitch. Of course, it's lonely and I have no one to talk to but my dog -- but I think the solitude is having a maturing effect. A Clint Eastwood effect, if you will. Then again, Clint Eastwood wouldn't leave his headlights on overnight and spend 2 hours on Sunday tracking down jumper cables.

So far I really like the Ballantyne area, and the weather is beautiful.

The place that we live in includes HBO and a washer and dryer in unit. I've never had these things before!

1 week down, 2+ to go until Laura gets here. I have no idea what is going to get posted on this website, considering most of the good stuff happens when Laura is around.

That's Chicago in the background of the picture above. I have an indescribable feeling about the city now. It's a place I never expected to stay for as long as I did, but you still make memories. Laura will understand it when she leaves.

The funny thing is she is staying with our good friends Patrick and Sheila. And their house is only a few blocks from the Riviera, where Laura and I met for the first time.

It will be great when we're finally reunited. Then we'll see where this Charlotte adventure leads us! As always, it's the first of the month, now is your chance to catch up on old posts.

OK everyone, have a great week!

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