I'm spending the weekend at my grandparents' house in scenic Catawba County, NC. I've always liked coming here, traveling to a different part of this state. It's a nice house on a huge lot, way out in the country. Granny and Grandpa are my maternal grandparents, natives of Western North Carolina. Granny is a retired english teacher, who has been on the county schoolboard for at least 12 years, and served 8 years as chairperson. Grandpa used to own a wood-importing business in Hickory called Blackburn International, which was sold to First Wood in 2000. He now makes pottery, continuing his family heritage. I'm using their computer, which has dial-up, as opposed to the high-speed cable back home. It took me about 40 minutes to write this entry, and by the time it finishes publishing, the time stamp will be a few minutes behind.

Today, I went to Concord Mills, a big outlet mall outside of Charlotte. They have a lot of stores there, but what sets that place apart from the others is Jillian's, a huge arcade/restaurant/bar. Like most boys (and maybe some girls) who were born since 1980, I grew up on video/arcade games, and Jillian's more than satisfies my "needs." As far as I know, there are only two in the whole state, and the one that is closer to my home is in Raleigh, but that one is more bar than arcade. No big deal, I'll live.

Anyway, I start my senior year on August 25, but I have my senior photo session this Wednesday.