Well, it's been a while since my last journal entry. Eight months and 25 days since my last journal entry, to be exact. A lot has happened in that time, especially in the last few months.

In the last few months I've seen, and experienced a lot. I've seen a friend leave the US to return "home," in a way. My friend, , emigrated from Beijing, China to the United States as a young boy, but returned to China last August to teach English in Chongqing. He was supposed to be gone for a year, but told me a few days ago he was coming home in early February. I will be glad to have him back in the States. Before he left, he figured out that my hard drive was not broken, but rather the USB port on it was bad. The hard drive works, and the FireWire port is good.

At the end of last September, I went on a road trip with one of my very best friends, Alex. We drove from Atlanta to Washington, DC. We stayed in DC for a few days and took in a lot. We then drove from DC to Philadelphia, stopping in Baltimore for lunch. We stayed for the night, and spent the next day seeing the sights in the City of Brotherly Love. Then it was back in the car to head on to New York City. We got into NYC that evening and drove around Manhattan for about an hour, until Alex's nerves were wrecked. We parked the car in a garage with an elevator for cars (pretty cool!) and set out on foot for the rest of our stay in the City That Never Sleeps. After a couple of days in the Big Apple, we got back in the car and hit the road, headed towards Atlantic City. We stayed in the Borgata Hotel & Casino. After checking in (and checking out the awesome view from our rooms), we hit the blackjack tables. We both won a bit of money and the hit mur.mur for some celebratory clubbing, Jersey Shore style. I have never seen such a high concentration of gold chains, spray tans, big hair and the hair product responsible for the big hair in my entire life. It was quite entertaining. After our night's stay in America's Playground, we hit the road and drove down the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and eventually decided to stop somewhere in Durham, North Carolina to rest up. We finished the drive back to Atlanta the next morning. I took so many pictures on the trip that I'm having trouble getting through all of them. I will continue to post them as I make my way through them.

I met a lovely girl in the last few months of 2010, and she's a keeper. Her name is Lauren. She won't let me photograph her... yet. I'm looking forward to continuing to get to know her, and her wonderfully family.

I was laid off on December 29th, 2010, and spent the next few weeks looking for employment. The global economy, especially that of the United States, is not in the greatest shape. Unemployment in Georgia is over 10%, and I know many people that have been laid off or let go in the last year that have spent 6 months - or more - looking for employment. I was fortunate enough to land an interview, and receive an offer for employment within less than 30 days from being laid off. The new job is with a much better company, in more ways than one. They are more visible, and have a larger international presence. The role I will be filling is also much more in line with my career interests and I believe will provide me with much more opportunity for growth than did my last position. I am scheduled to start on February 14th.

In other news, the Green Bay Packers have made it to the Super Bowl. It has been too long since this happened last. I have been a Packers fan since I was 7 years old, and I am hoping for a win! GO PACK GO!

Happy New Year everyone. I suppose it's better late, than never.