Away, away, my love

I've been to Utah and back with much to share. But in the meantime, while I was visiting I picked up a book that I actually had bought for my niece for Christmas this year.

I read a great interview with the author, Stephanie Meyer on the plane that made me curious about her books. She writes mainly for a teenage audience but her subject is vampires, specifically a human girl devoted to a vampire boy. I'm admittedly a huge fan of Anne Rice, so the vampire genre is one I'm passionate about in the first place. But the skeptic in me usually triggers when I hear "love story" and "teenagers."

I should also admit, I don't really like teenagers. I think they are ridiculous. I swear I never acted like that when I was a teenager, although I bet my mom would disagree. Still, if you can't speak one sentence without the word "like" then I can't stand near you for very long. Nails on a chalkboard, people.

However, this book was pretty good. I read it in one fell swoop between horrible flights on the way home. Thankfully the ball of fire was so exhausted he just laid in a puddle in the seat next to me.

And, to top it off, there's a movie in the making. Although in my mind, Edward was much hotter!

More on the trip to Utah, including the BOF peeing in the desert in the days to come.

Out west

I went home to St. Louis this weekend to kiss my sister and her family good-bye. As I reminded my mom (and myself) frequently, thanks to the digital age, we will remain very much in touch. Still, it's hard to believe I won't see a scene like this for a while.

It kinda makes my heart hurt ... just a little.

The Goodbye Girl

I've mentioned before that I have a wonderful sister who has a great husband and fabulous little boy. They live in St. Louis which is comfortably close and we chat regularly on the phone and through e-mail.

Recently the brother-in-law was approached by company that specializes in games.

Let's say that a different way: He was offered an amazing job doing flash design for a company that makes video games for the likes of, oh, Nintendo! Unfortunately, this amazing job is located in the fertile valley of Salt Lake City.

That's Salt Lake City, Utah. That's a three hour plane ride or 11 hour car ride, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Given that this is a once-in-a-career opportunity, obviously the right thing to do is ask for the most money, the best vacation package and full benefits.

He did. They did. Damn, they are moving to Utah.